Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

Co-Offender charges were dismissed, why?

My son's stated prison term is 1 year for robbery. He is a 19 year old first time offender. Is there any possibility of a judicial release and if so, how do we go about looking into it or filing the motion. The charges against the other person were dropped and I believe it may have been because the victim never showed up to court. In my son's case, the victim was picked up by the arresting officer when he had not previously shown up and the defense was talking about having the case dismissed. I don't understand why someone with a prior arrest record would be able to go free but a first time offender would be sentenced to a year. Not to mention, the other person jumped bond and it was 5 months before they caught him. Just seems so grossly unfair.


Asked on 2/27/08, 12:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Cline Office of the Ohio Public Defender

Re: Co-Offender charges were dismissed, why?

Because robbery is a crime of violence, it is not eligible for judicial release. If your son actually pleaded guilty to some lesser charge, he may be eligible.

It is impossible to know why the charges were dismissed in one case but not in another. It may be as simple as the fact that the police were able to find the victim in time in your son's case, but not in the other case.

I hope this information is helpful.

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Answered on 2/27/08, 1:25 pm


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