Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Was this case mishandled?
In 2005 my son was convicted of rape 2nd. He was a senior in high school and was dating a girl who went to a different school and was untruthful about her age. I think my sons case was mishandled. My son was unable to adequately confer with his lawyer because his lawyer had been on vacation for 2wks. The judge gave him 15min to talk to his lawyer and make a decision because he, in his words, ''wanted this case out of his court today'' My son took a plea deal of 5 yrs probation and 5yr to register as a level 1 sex offender. He felt at the time it was his only option. When he got to probation he was told it was 10 yrs probation and 10 yrs to register. He was told by his probation officer that this was not an offense that could be plea bargained. Also the paperwork that he signed had been signed and dated 2wks prior to him going to court. His lawyer or the court never notified him of any of this. In fact, when he called his lawyer to ask he told that there was a plea agreement and it still stood. I want to have his case re-opened. Is there a statute of limitation if so how long? What do I need to do?

Asked on 4/27/09, 1:00 pm

jeffrey lazroe Jeffrey A. Lazroe attorney at law

0 users found helpful

0 attorneys agreed

Re: Was this case mishandled?

I first would have to say that this is a mess.

Your son was probably 17 or 18 when this ocurdred. He now has a criminal sexual record that will follow him for the rest of his life.

He did not have informed consent when he made the plea.

We would have to get a copy of the plea as it was placed on the record, and the sentencing hearing to determine if the case can be challenged.

I would not wait too long as the more you linger the harder it is to reopen.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Answered on 4/28/09, 3:18 pm

Keywords

Match Any Match All

Country

State

Area of Law