Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

DA precharging conferences with representatives of the DA�s office are not nearly as common as they should be in WI. They are frequently conducted in Milwaukee and other more populous counties, however, and even some smaller counties are slowly catching on to this excellent, money saving practice. It is a rare opportunity for the defendant and his or her attorney to take part in the single most important decision which the criminal justice system will make; whether or not they will be charged with a crime and, if so, with exactly which one (out of the hundreds of different crimes which any individual instance of misconduct could be charged.) In appropriate cases, it a chance to talk the DA out of charging someone at all, perhaps in return for their voluntarily dealing with the issue leading to it, i.e., going to drug and alcohol counseling, anger management classes, etc. And, in more serious cases, it is a chance to potentially end up with a charge which is acceptable to everyone including both law enforcement and the defendant. In short, it is a chance for the most powerful person in the system, the District Attorney or his assistant, to fully consider both "sides of the story." It can therefore spare both the defendant and the court system the huge expense of months of litigation (even jury trials) , all of which is geared toward answering exactly same question, i.e., what does the person really deserve to be convicted of? Legal representation at such conferences, however, is critical, since admissions made to law enforcement at the conference can later be used against the defendant in court if appropriate precautions are not taken. Defendants also must be aware the DA�s representative they meet at the conference is not necessarily their friend. Instead, his job is to protect society, usually at the defendant�s expense. The assistant DA is also a trained professional advocate, against whom a citizen without legal training hardly stands a chance. Defendants therefore have an even greater need for their own professional advocate at this conference. My comments here are not legal advice, nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us. However, you are welcome to contact my office to discuss retaining me or to set up a free initial consultation at my office in Racine. I also can sometimes arrange to travel outside of Racine for initial consultations if absolutely necessary.