Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Not Arrested but covicted

There is not quite enough detail to answer your question. The fact one is not arrested at the scene for certain charges does not preclude charges being filed later. While a passenger in a car is not normally presumed responsible for everything in the car, he could be presumed responsible for things that are in his proximity or in plain view near him. I am not sure why half a pool cue would be a weapon. But, the reality is if he pleaded guilty, then his only remedy would be to try to vacate the plea for lack of effective legal counsel. Consult a local criminal defense lawyer. He will probably have to pay to have any chance to undo what the public defender did.

Re: Not Arrested but covicted

The process normally followed in California is that the police prepare a police report. This report is then taken to the District Attorney's office. After reviewing the facts set forth in the police report the DA determines what charges to file against the defendant. The arresting officer makes a judgement call as to what charge to put on the booking sheet and in the police report, but that is for the purpose of setting bail and other administrative purposes.

The half of a pool cue meets the definition of a weapon under Cal law. As do most of the items we have in our homes, baseball bats, screw drivers, hammers etc.

Withdrawing a guilty plea is a very difficult process. The court will withdraw a guilty plea when the person was coerced into entering the plea. Such as the person did it to benefit a co-defendant. Ineffective counsel is extremely difficult to prove. The attorney has to be totally incompent. A judge will be reluctant to find that a public defender did not provide effective representation.