Missouri DWI charge, prosecutor offered to save us the money of getting a defense attorney, is this advisable?
Monday, December 17th, 2007 at
6:34 pm
wife asked:
My husband was arrested for DWI 2 weeks ago. I ran into the city prosecutor (who will be prosecuting my husband) and he offered to save us the money of hiring a defense attorney by visiting with us about our options pro bono. At first this sounded like a good idea…get on the good side of the prosecutor. But now he is saying that he won’t have time to meet with us until court recess the day of the hearing. He says that when the judge calls my husbands name, that he should say, I request to talk to the prosecutor over recess. Then he said that at recess he would advise us as to our options. I don’t know if that is a good idea or not. I don’t like the idea of going to court without having recieved any cheap pills online council from anyone…and then to have to tell the judge you want to talk to the prosecutor at the recess. I just feel like we should have some council (probably from someone other than the man responcible with convicting him) before we walk into the court. My husband did have a DWI in Missouri prior to this one, but it was over 15 years ago. I’m not sure what we are looking at here. Should he get a lawyer, or would that be insulting to the prosecutor (would that make the prosecutor want to stick it to him after offering to help)? I’m so worried and confused.
My husband was arrested for DWI 2 weeks ago. I ran into the city prosecutor (who will be prosecuting my husband) and he offered to save us the money of hiring a defense attorney by visiting with us about our options pro bono. At first this sounded like a good idea…get on the good side of the prosecutor. But now he is saying that he won’t have time to meet with us until court recess the day of the hearing. He says that when the judge calls my husbands name, that he should say, I request to talk to the prosecutor over recess. Then he said that at recess he would advise us as to our options. I don’t know if that is a good idea or not. I don’t like the idea of going to court without having recieved any cheap pills online council from anyone…and then to have to tell the judge you want to talk to the prosecutor at the recess. I just feel like we should have some council (probably from someone other than the man responcible with convicting him) before we walk into the court. My husband did have a DWI in Missouri prior to this one, but it was over 15 years ago. I’m not sure what we are looking at here. Should he get a lawyer, or would that be insulting to the prosecutor (would that make the prosecutor want to stick it to him after offering to help)? I’m so worried and confused.
Hire a lawyer… don’t be silly. This is serious, and unless you know the prosecutor (and trust him explicitly), you’re setting yourself up for a major disaster.
Let him know that through some other connection you’ve got a lawyer that would like to take the case. Be courteous, cordial, and friendly to the prosecutor in any event.
There is another angle… a good appeals lawyer could overturn a conviction on the grounds that the prosecutor had a conflict of interest in offering to advise you in the same case he was prosecuting… maybe. Just get a lawyer.
Since many many cases are resolved through sidebar discussion among attorneys (he is an attorney for the State or County and just happens to have a special title of Prosecutor) and he probably thinks he such an objective, reasonable person that he can handle both sides. But he is actually risking a violation of most legal professional standards. Only an attorney working for YOU can really represent your interests. There will be too much emotional (and logistical) pressure on both you and him (the prosecutor), at the Court session, for him to really do what he thinks he is able to. It is probably best that you get an attorney and don’t worry about the prosecutor’s feelings. He was just trying to make things easy for himself.
Hire your own attorney. I would think that the prosecutors offer is a conflict of interest. He will probably advise you on which guilty plea will cost you the least. The judge makes the final decision.
wife, Last summer I got pulled for a DWI. In my state a 0.08 is considered a drunk driver. I’m not sure what the limit is in Missouri. Try visiting a DWI attorney for a free evaluation.