Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
i went to target. a lady ,cut me off and took the parking spot i was waiting for. we both argued and said a few bad words to eachother. i found another spot, parked, shopped and continued with my day. a few months later i get a letter asking me to go to the police department to give my statement bcause she was accusing me of damaging her car. officer told me there was a video of me doing such act. he told me if i didnt agree to having damaged her car, he would submit video to the court i said i didnt o anything so to go ahead and do what he needed to do. we have been going to court for a couple of months and now my public defendant tells me that it is cheaper and my only option to plead no contest, be on provation for 2 years and pay the 1800 in damages. other option is to go to court and end up paying about 5-7 grand on fees and damages. I did not damage that lady's car and they still have not provided anyone w/that so called videotape. I have not seen it. How can I be punished for something i did not do?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Too bad you are represented by the public defender.
How is it cheaper? You don't have to pay the public defender. Has your public defender filed a motion to compel production of that alleged videotape?
One would normally assume that the DA must have a videotape or would not be prosecuting the case, but the PD can easily get the tape by just demanding it [actually, the DA should have already turned over all the evidence against you]. Demand the tape, see if it really shows you and if it is not clear get the PD to file a motion to suppress the tape -- do not plead guilty unless they can reasonably show that you are guilty. A guilty plea can have all sorts of bad effects.
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