Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Plea bargain and bad lawyer

You can retain an attorney to review his file and give you an opinion as to whether the plea bargain was in his best interest and if he should file a motion to with his plea. The sentence for attempted murder is the same as that for murder, 25 years to life.

Re: Plea bargain and bad lawyer

It may well be that your husband agreed to take a "bad deal". If you intend to have him make a motion to withdraw his plea, you must do so in a timely manner, meaning immediately. If you wish to further discuss this with an attorney, at no cost, call Michael Bialys of this office at (800) 313-9619

Re: Plea bargain and bad lawyer

The deal was not necessarily a bad one, and the fact that counsel recommended it does not mean he was a bad lawyer. Had your husband been convicted of attempted murder he would have received a much longer sentence. If the evidence against him was strong and a conviction likely, then he is better off with the deal than he would have been without.

The fact that your husband is bipolar and in remedial classes is irrelevant to whether he is guilty of attempting to murder you. Bipolar disorder is rarely serious enough to be legally considered insanity, and insanity is the only mental state California law recognizes as a defense. Being in remedial classes has nothing to do with whether he knew what he was doing when and if he tried to kill you. If you think these factors would have helped your husband at trial then you are quite mistaken.

The fact that he felt pressured is also not enough to invalidate the deal or call its wisdom into question. Everyone who accepts a plea bargain is under pressure, since the alternative is to go to trial and risk a longer sentence. If he was coerced he would have a good argument, but the ordinary pressures that come with plea bargains aren't enough to justify changing the plea.

Likewise, the fact that he didn't consult with family is beside the point. You say he made this deal the day before trial. If he didn't have family with him in the courtroom then there wasn't much anyone could do to let him consult them. He had his lawyer there, and lawyers usually have better advice to offer about such things than relatives, who are emotionally involved in the case and who usually have no criminal defense experience.

By all means, review the case with other lawyers and get their opinions. With more information, it may turn out that your husband accepted a bad deal. The limited amount of information you have provided, though, says the deal was probably a good one.