Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: no complaint filed dropped at defendants request

There are several explanations for the way things have occurred in your matter, and it sounds like the procedures are OK. However, both of you may have defenses to the charges. You should definitely have a consultation with one or two criminal lawyers in your area before you go to court, and decide how you want to proceed. Most criminal lawyers give free consultations. Take a couple of them and decide who you like. You will each need a separate lawyer because there is a potential conflict between you and your husband, and one lawyer shouldn't represent two people who may have a conflict of interests. If your case is in LA, don't hesitate to call me for a free consultation. Steve Mandell (310) 393 0639

Re: no complaint filed dropped at defendants request

I am sorry that you got the bad news and it does not seem fair and honestly it is not. However, here is your situation. Double jeopardy only applies once there has been a complaint filed by the D.A. and your case has been tried or dismissed. In other words, you cannot be prosecuted for the same crime twice. You were never prosecuted for the first time. Further, the D.A. has up to a year to file a complaint against you on a criminal matter. The clock starts ticking from the time the D.A. gets the report. If this new charge is the same set of facts from the first incident and it has been more than a year you can probably beat the charges.

The reasons that the D.A. will wait to file can be as simple as they are disorganized and backed up and your case just sat on someone's desk for awhile. Sometimes the D.A. who is on duty the week your case comes in does not want to file on it, but a different D.A. several weeks and several rotations later will want to file on it and does. Sometimes, they have to go out and find more information or speak with the officers before they file on it. That can take time as well.

However, the fact that it took them so long to file can be a strong indication that they have a weak case, that they have not preserved the evidence to be used against you or a variety of other defenses that they will try and hide. The trick is to get an investigator who has friends in the department to do some investigation as to why they took so long. Here is where I often find the weaknesses that allow me to win the case for my clients. You are not alone, this happens quite often. Especially in drug cases. Call if you have any questions.