Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

misdemeanor question

A few friends and I made a video where I was falling down and making a fool of myself. A family nearby must not have liked what they saw because they ended up calling the police and accused me of revealing my penis in public which is a lie. A month or two passed and I get a letter saying a warrant is out for my arrest. I go to the courthouse to find out what is happening. I discover I am being charged for indecent exposure. I never had a record before and I didn't do what I was being accused of. I got a public defender who did little for me. I came to court every time I was requested to even when a party of the family failed to show up for their subpeona. Things still went forward. My lawyer advised me to take a plea of trespassing charges but I never thought it would be $1100 dollars. I think I got bad legal advice because she told me the facts were on my side and that the family has a vested interest in this case. I cannot pay this fine and think I have a lawsuit against the city for bringing these charges against me. I have been living away out of the country since and will return. What are my options here? I am on probation and scared. I am intimidated of the legal system and could use a lawyer to help me with this case.


Asked on 9/26/05, 1:23 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: misdemeanor question

Once a guilty plea has been enetered it is difficult to get the court to set it aside. A trespassing charge is much less onerous that a indecent exposure. If you do not have the resources to pay the fine you should go to your attrorney and explore the options available. Some counties have public service programs which you can do in lieu of paying the fine. Staying away and not addressing this issue could result in a violation of probation and a maximum jail sentence.

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Answered on 9/26/05, 1:43 pm
Richard Wagner Wagner & Zielinski, A Professional Law Corp.

Re: misdemeanor question

Too bad. I hate when I hear stories like this. You should make a motion to withdraw your guilty plea. This may get granted. If not, serve out the probation and pay the fine or do community service instead of the fine. Then do an "expungement" at the end of the probationary period.

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Answered on 9/26/05, 2:07 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: misdemeanor question

I realize you posted this question quite a while ago, but I just looked at the answers and realized they did not address part of the question.

You almost certainly don't "have a lawsuit against the city for bringing these charges". Prosecutors are supposed to bring charges when they believe the defendant is guilty of the charged crime, and they do not become liable whenever they turn out to be mistaken. They are only liable when they act in bad faith -- in other words, when they prosecute someone they believe is innocent and who actually *is* innocent. This doesn't happen very often. Given that the neighbors claimed to have seen you expose yourself, there was ample evidence supporting a good-faith belief in your guilt.

Besides, when you pled guilty you admitted the truth of the charges against you. A lawsuit would deny the truth of the charges, but the law won't let you deny what you have already admitted in court.

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Answered on 12/01/05, 9:02 pm


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