Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

hello, im a writing on behalf of my best friend who is in county jail.my friend and his father were driving down a street called buck avenue. as they headed down buck an undercover cop turned onto buck avenue the opposite direction as my friend and his father. the cop flipped around at the closest available spot and started following my friend and his father. he followed approximately one mile before initiating the stop. the reason the cop gave for the stop was a hairline crack in the passengers side of the vehicle and a taillight was out. when in fact no tail light was out. my friend who was the passenger is on parole so the officer called 7 squad cars to the scene and a dog. they searched the vehicle, ripped of the dash completely , and completely tore the inside of the vehicle up, ripping everything except the wires out. they eventually found a small baggie of less then a gram in a vent. the officer then separated my friend and his dad and told my friend if he did not say that it was his they were going to take his dad to jail. my friend then said it was his even though it wasn't because he did not want his dad to go to jail. he has been to court one time and the DA already said he is eligible for prop 36 or a year in the county jail. should my friend accept prop 36 or should he take his case to trial?


Asked on 4/22/12, 2:26 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Zadik Shapiro Law Offices of C. Zadik Shapiro

The decision has to be your friend's. He should discuss it with his attorney, giving the attorney all of the facts. But he should not be talking to you or to anyone else, other than his attorney, about the facts of the case either over the phone, in a letter, or during visitation. You must assume it is taped and provided to the DA.

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Answered on 4/22/12, 11:08 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Your friend should get a lawyer if he hasn't already, and listen to her advice. If he doesn't like what she says, he should get a second opinion. He should not make do with answers you relay to him from this site. Speaking directly with a lawyer will let the lawyer better understand what happened, and will result in more reliable advice.

Mr. Shapiro is right that your friend should not be talking about his case with anyone but attorneys. He gave a good reason, and there are plenty of others. For example, if the authorities learn that he has discussed the case with you, they can subpoena you and make you testify about those conversations under oath.

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Answered on 4/22/12, 5:10 pm


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