Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California
Appealing a charge
My boyfriend was charged with solicitation. He feels he was wrongly accused and convicted. The police were doing a sting in the area where he had pulled over to talk on his cell phone and the woman walked up to his drivers side window and stuck her body through and wouldn't get out. She kept asking him if he wanted to have some fun and he told her no several times but she wouldn't get out of his car window, so he said okay so she would get out and told her to go around the corner, that is when he tried to take off and go home, but the cops pulled in and arrested him. He says he is innocent and that the D.A. did not provide sufficient evidence, in fact there was no evidence provided, they said they had him on tape, but they never provided it. His lawyer did not appeal. He already served 2 days in jail, but now he has this misdeamenor on his record. He is currently looking for a job in the IT field and this misdeamenor on his record is preventing him from employment, with a few companies. Is there anyway he can get this charge reduced or taken off his record so he will be able to find a career in his field? Or can he meet with a judge to get the charge exsponged?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Appealing a charge
A few thoughts, in no particular order:
1. There are strict rules for determining when a notice of appeal must be filed. It is not clear from your question whether an appeal would be time-barred in this case.
2. Your boyfriend's claim that there was no evidence is implausible. Juries don't convict without evidence. In fact, judges don't even allow cases to go to trial if there isn't enough evidence to persuade reasonable people that the defendant is guilty.
3. If there really was no evidence presented then there probably was no trial. If there was no trial but your boyfriend was convicted then he must have pled guilty. If he pled guilty then his options are extremely limited.
4. If he has already been convicted it is very unlikely he can get the charge reduced. A successful appeal could result in a lesser conviction after his nex trial, but unless something very unusual happened at trial the appellate court is not going to order the conviction reduced to something else.
5. "Meeting with the judge" is not an option and would accomplish nothing.
6. Even if it is too late for an appeal, your boyfriend may be able to attack the conviction by petititoning for a writ of habeas corpus.
7. I have a great deal of experience in criminal appeals and am a certified appellate specialist (per the State Bar's board of legal specialization). You and/or your boyfriend should feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss the case in more detail.
Re: Appealing a charge
It is too late to complain about the facts of the case; and he sure doesn't get to 'meet with a judge' - that's what the trial was for, and he lost. If he wants to try for expungement of his record, then once he has successfully completed all terms of any parole and/or probation ordered, have him contact me to discuss the process and costs.
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