courtroom question leo's only please

[stangnut]

i'll spare you the sorry details, but i may have to go to court for a summons on a class e crime. having never been in a courtroom in my life,when you make your plea,do you get a chance to explain yourself to the judge? or is it cut and dried, guilty or not guilty?will it do any good? i intend to plead guilty but what happened is complicated and i never intended to break any laws. thanks for your help!

 

[Red Mustang Gt]

I'll just say that courtrooms are DYNAMIC...all factors play into courtroom atmosphere and how you plea, you should have an Attorney that is well tuned to the prosecutor and Judge that will be hearing your case. Things that affect your outcome; Judges mood, Judges agenda for the day (golf game, lunch date, you name it), elections year for the Judge (bad time to be a defendant, they make an example of you for brownie points in the election) States Attorney track record, mood, agenda for you (an "x" in the win column, lose, or stet). Your attire, attitude, Lawyer, etc...it is complicated!!! There are probably a whole bunch more factors that can be noted but those are some that stick out in my mind.

My suggestion??? Go to court as a spectator for a couple of days and watch, we call it the zoo around here.

What is a class "e" crime, PM if you don't mind...we are all human.

 

[Iceman II]

If you have not had a pre-trial you will have a seat until your name is called depending on how many cases that are set. When your name is called you will be asked to have a seat in one of the two tables.
One side is the defense and the other the prosecution. The prosecution side will have a states attorney and the witness (s), this normally being the officer.
The judge will ask if everyone is ready and then the complaint against you will be read by the states attorney. The judge will ask for your plea. You have three options: Guilty, Not Guilty or Nolo Contendre.
If you answer not guilty you will proceed with the trial. The witness for the state will present testimony and you have the oppertunity to ask the witness questions.
After the witness is finished testifying, it is then the defendents time to testi-lie.
The judge or jury then weighs the evidence.

 

[FiXXXer024]

I'm assuming he means possession of class E substance (prescription pills and whatnot)... In my experience, if your BOP isn't too dirty and if you get yourself into NA or something like that NOW, it'll go a long way towards the judge simply dismissing the charge or continuing it without a finding. I don't know how they operate up there, but down here class E is like a speeding ticket, tell the judge you won't do it again and he'll gladly move on to bigger and better things...