For Parents

Perhaps you are contacted to help with bail or attorney’s fees, but no one ever addresses  your questions and concerns.  Are you forgotten after the check is written?  Please know that after practicing 32 years, I recognize the need to convey non-privileged information to all concerned.

A lady called me, crying that her child would be serving 366 days in federal prison.  She did not understand that the judge gave her a “gift” of the 366th day; that her time would be computed more favorably. I told her the actual time that her daughter would serve before the possibility of a halfway house, and the time when her sentence would be completed.  That gave the mom  a great deal of comfort and was something that the lawyer never bothered to tell her.

Perhaps if you read the other portions of this website and of the blogs, you will have at least some of your questions answered. If not, let me pose and answer a few.

Perhaps years, so don’t use all of your assets immediately.

The short answer is that it will take much longer than you expect on the first day.  Your child or grandchild will first have to address bond; then motion practice; trial; sentencing, if trial is unsuccessful; and appeal if all else fails–perhaps even seeking review from the United States Supreme Court.  This can take from a matter of months to years depending on individual circumstances.

This Depends.

This is a more complicated question than it first appears.  In a perfect world, your child would be able to just sign a signature bond swearing that he or she will appear.  These are more common in state courts.  If you have to use a bondsman, normally bondsmen are paid a fee of 10% of the face value of  a state bond and 15% for federal bonds. The entire bond has to be secured by cash, mortgages, etc.  That means for a $150,000 bond, you must pay the premium of either 10 or 15% and then secure the entire $150,000 for the bondsman.

The first question is whether this is a bondable offense.  If it is, has the bond been set according to a schedule or is it much higher than expected or, worst of all, does the government want to pre-trial detain your child pending trial?

In federal court if there is to be a pre-trial detention hearing, it usually will not take place until three business days after your child’s first appearance. (By the way, if this has been an ongoing investigation, do not be surprised if the arrest takes place on a Friday or before a holiday weekend to extend the time incarcerated even on an offense which is ultimately bonded).

This is determined by circumstances, particularly the amount of money that the arrested person and the family have to expend on the entire defense–bond, attorney, costs, investigators, scientific tests, expert testimony, transcripts, etc.  Perhaps it is better to wait a few days to get a bond reduction if possible.

Everyone wants a final number before the case is really analyzed.  First, the attorney has to establish a fee for professional services–usually in a criminal case they are paid in total up-front–and then she has to begin assessing what experts are necessary and what must be investigated.  It is not uncommon for fees to top  $100,000 and even much more  for a complicated defense or appeals and expenses may range about half again or more of that amount.

It is nice to see CSI on TV where the experts “solve” the case in favor of your child.  However, these scientific tests and expert witnesses are not free.  Many experts charge $500-$1000 per hour and spend many hours reviewing the record, researching the science, consulting with counsel and your child, and traveling to testify in court–perhaps at a pre-trial hearing and certainly at trial.

If money is finite, the family may make the decision not to hypothecate real property or  post a great deal of cash for bond, in favor of waiting a period of time to see if the bond will be reduced or exactly what the case may entail.

Yes. The court will ask him to swear to his assets and if he does not have a “present ability to retain counsel,” he will be appointed to the public defender or others who accept appointments to these cases.

One ray of sunshine is that even when you retain counsel, it is possible to present to the court that you are unwilling or unable to pay for experts, etc. and have the court pay some or all of their expenses and fees based upon your child’s income and assets.

No. I certainly cannot speak to all jail conditions, but in most cases the people live in dorm-like rooms with others–much like young people who first enter the Army.  The jail is strict about telephone calls, waking and going to sleep on time and meal time.  Of course, all telephone calls are recorded and can be used as evidence against your child.  Caution them not to speak about the crime, just talk about family things. This is particularly true if he or she thinks that he is speaking in “code” and can get away with saying anything.  If the words are so confusing and abstruse, it is possible that you will see an agent on the stand telling the jury what that those words “mean…” in his experience.  Dolls can become kilos, trucks can become marijuana.  Just be cautions.

See in depth discussion of sentencing.  In short, much longer than you believe is fair and much less than in the movies.

Again, this is more complex than it first appears.  We must take the crime and “score” it as a crime according to guidelines from the state or federal government.  Then we must take your child’s criminal history, if any, and match it to that score.  Superceding all of this is the concept of “minimum mandatory sentences.”  In its zeal, Congress and various states have said that some crimes deserve a “minimum” sentence, no matter the guidelines–5, 10, 20 years or even life.

After these sentence calculations are made, it is then that the creative work of the attorney takes place.  We need to show the judge why this child does not fit into the sentencing scheme which is a one-size-fits-all.  As stated in another location on this website, this is a complex process, one many lawyers do not address completely, and can make a substantial difference in the actual time served.  If your child has been convicted but not sentenced, and his or her attorney is not vigorously preparing for sentencing–including creative sentencing options for the court–perhaps you should speak with this office which can substitute for your child at sentencing and continue on appeal.