Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
My son was arrested on 3/24/09 and sentenced on 3/26/09 for 243(e)(1)PC a domestic violence charge. He was arrested by the Buena Park Police Dept and was in the Buena Park Jail when he went to court, saw the judge, and was sentenced.
He has never been arrested before at that time he was 19 years old. He never talked to a public defender before he was sentenced and his court papers don�t list a public defender. He knows very little about the law especially domestic violence. He is innocent, however, he plead guilty because the judge told him that he will let him out of jail that day if he plead guilty. He wanted to get out of jail to save his job, move his car so it won�t get towed, and to see his children.
I recently talked to his girlfriend and she told me that she told the cops that he choked her; however, what truly happened was he tried to get away from her by pushing her off him and trying to stop her from hitting him. His sentence is 3 days in jail-time served, community service (done), 52 weeks of domestic violence classes, and 3 years informal probation.
Since then his girl friend has given him a black eye, many bruises, broke two of his phones, broke his computer, stalks him, won�t leave his place not even to take care of their children (she leaves them with her mom for months), and constantly threatens him. He is still in love with her which is why he has put up with her; they had two children before the arrest and one more last December 2009.
He is finally tired of her and wants to see his children and take care of them. He is upset that she is not with them and so am I. I don�t even get to see them. He wishes he plead not guilty so that he could get his children and care for them.
Can he get an appeal or some other legal term so he can change is plea and prove his innocence?
Thank you.
3 Answers from Attorneys
You can do what you should have done to begin with, which is hire your son a private criminal defense lawyer. If I were his lawyer I would file a motion with the court to withdraw his guilty plea, and my best guess is it would be granted, and he would then have the right to go to trial. The judge might set bail, so you might also have to get him a bail bond. What happens after that is anybody's guess. If you have any other children, teach them to not talk to the police and to not plead guilty.
It's too late for an appeal, but there's still time to bring a petition for a writt of habeas corpus. In order to win, he will need to show a defect in his guilty plea. If he was denied access to a lawyer (as opposed to merely deciding to represent himself) and/or if he wasn't properly informed of his rights, he could win. If he does, though, he will only be able to withdraw his plea. He may have to stand trial, though that would be up to the D.A.
Feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss his case further. I am a certified specialist in appellate practice (per the State Bar of California) with more than 15 years of relevant experience.
It is way too late to appeal.
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