Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Bargaining with the DA Hearing Officer

DONT TALK TO THE DA YOURSELF, NOT ONE WORD. Have you been following the news? The Vegas DA charged O.J. Simpson with 11 felonies, hoping he will be convicted of one. The DA is NOT YOUR PAL. You will not be able to schmooze your way out of this. You have no assurance he or she will decide to just charge you with a $100 infraction. Maybe they will overcharge and you will find yourself having to post bail, retain counsel, and, if it is a felony charge, you will have to show up at each of 8 or 10 court hearings. For the love of God have an attorney negotiate with the DA. Anything YOU say can and WILL be twisted around and used against you. I know what I would tell them.

Re: Bargaining with the DA Hearing Officer

You can TRY anything you like. But you are not likely to succeed in 'gaming the system', and probably will incriminate yourself with your statements. If you want to fight it, get an attorney, that's what they're trained to do. Are you? The obvious problem is one of cost effectiveness. If $100 is the worst outcome, you'd need to fight and hire an attorney 'on principle' since you'll be paying more in fees than the fine. Feel free to contact me if serious about defending and trying to avoid a criminal record.