Advice needed on 'crime' and lawyer

[rothlev]

When my son was 17 he was accused of stealing money from a cash register in a dept. store. The store had seen the two boys fooling around and left the register open. The friend took $100. My son said he did nothing. I refused to have him plead guilty. It went to a juvenile arbitrator as the prosecutor did not want want to deal with it. He was assigned a small amount of community service which I agreed with. There was nothing on his record. they may be trying to scare you . I did not have to have a lawyer to settle it.

 

[Mulligan]

Criminal lawyer used to juvenile cases. Do not handle this on your own, as school/police interactions have become absurd. There is no even mild hope of good sense being shown, as you can already see. He lawyers up.

Ha

Yes, times have really changed, HA. Now I must preface I was always at rural schools, but I remember the good old days of 15 years ago when I would have occasionally a couple of kids in a normal run of the mill fight. I would paddle them and send them back to class and the problem was over. One time I found out a " go between" stirred it up between the two combatants so he got the board also. Would always notify parents first and give them the option to take them home, but they always wanted them to face the "board of education". As far as the high schoolers go, if you could catch it before it happened you just told them to take it to the field across the road after school, and they always would. Its all where you are from, I guess. Very few times was the law involved. They had their own problems and expected you to deal with it. Different times now most certainly.

 

[utrecht]

Im not a lawyer so I cant give legal advice but I am a police officer in Texas so I answer most of your questions. First of all, how old is your son? There is a HUGE difference between him being a minor (under 17) or an adult. Sounds to me like the ticket is for disorderly conduct. In that case, it makes no difference who started the fight. Fighting in public is considered "disorderly" in Texas

 

[jennypenny]

The assistant principle's comment that the judge would be lenient if your son pleads guilty is ridiculous. The guilty plea IS the thing you should be worried about.

 

[Letj]

Under no circumstances shoud you be talking to the prosecutor. Keep your mouth shut and hire a lawyer immediately. Get a good lawyer experienced in these matter regardless of the cost. I know what I am talking about. I know someone who been through a very serious false allegation. He hired a lawyer immediately, kept his mouth shut and did not discuss with even his closest friend. Check out the video on line by the Harvard prof on why you should always keep your mouth especially when dealing with the police. You've already said too much on here and admitted that your son did things that you should not. Speaking to the principal was also not a good idea.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

No guesssing on this one, considering everything that is at stake. A good lawyer will know the exact steps to take to get your son out of the situation or to have the least impact on his citizenship. That is the #1 priority. Don't believe anything anyone at the school or the police department tells you. Not saying they would lie but the waters get muddied and the lawyer should sort this all out, not you.

 

[MichaelB]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I have no legal expertise and will leave that matter to others to comment on. However, I am an immigrant and I think that, were it my case, I would pursue all legal options to avoid being convicted of a crime. Even a misdemeanor conviction can have serious consequences on one's immigration status.

+1

Criminal lawyer used to juvenile cases. Do not handle this on your own, as school/police interactions have become absurd. There is no even mild hope of good sense being shown, as you can already see. He lawyers up.

Ha

+1

Yes, yes, yes, get a lawyer.

A guilty plea will be on his record; even though he's a minor, it could follow him forever in background checks, besides the immigration issues.

Ridiculous that it's come to this.

+1

Pleading guilty is terrible advice. Going through life with a record is a disadvantage no one needs, especially when they have done the same things the rest of us did. Get an attorney that will help this child.

 

[eytonxav]

As you have been advised by others, absolutely you will need an attorney to handle this. My guess is the attorney should be able to resolve the matter with the prosecutor out of court and very likely might be something that can be expunged since he is a minor so there is no record of a crime.

Good luck and hope this turns out well, as your son sounds like a good kid that got sucked into this by a jerk.

 

[harley]

Meaningless anecdote - When I was a kid I got into an argument with another kid in gym class. The coach had us meet up after school, strap on the gloves, and have at it. Three rounds. It worked. We both got a few bruises, forgot why we were fighting, and went on with life. Probably both of us, the coach, and all the people watching would end up in prison these days.

 

[Texas Proud]

Im not a lawyer so I cant give legal advice but I am a police officer in Texas so I answer most of your questions. First of all, how old is your son? There is a HUGE difference between him being a minor (under 17) or an adult. Sounds to me like the ticket is for disorderly conduct. In that case, it makes no difference who started the fight. Fighting in public is considered "disorderly" in Texas

Thanks for the information.

 

[utrecht]

I dont know anything about how this would affect citizenship, but a disorderly conduct ticket is a Class C Misdemeanor which is the same thing as getting a speeding ticket. Pleading guilty is no big deal at all. Pay the fine and be done with it. Other than the possible citizenship issues.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I would speak with an attorney.

 

[sundance]

The Assistant Principal is not your friend or lawyer!! He/She should not be telling you "The judge would be more lenient if your son pleads guilty". It sounds to me like the Assist. principal is BULLYING or attempting to INTIMADATE you & your family. How would they know such information about any judge! BEWARE of the school system. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE speak to a lawyer. Ask about legal aid if you cannot afford one. I am not crazy about lawyers either but...dont go it alone.
P.S. Speak to your son so this does not happen ever again. Best of luck!

 

[growing_older]

Scorched Earth.

First you need to get good legal help. If this is partly a result of a pattern of bullying that went on for an extended time and the school did not adequately protect your son, you may have an action against them. A good lawyer will be able to tell you what your rights are and where the school is lying to you. The school's interest is very different from yours and they would love a guilty plea to absolve them of liability in the fight. There's nothing like a pit bull lawyer explaining the action that's about to be filed against the school to make them suddenly interested in dismissing the whole thing. Don't let them bully you, too.

 

[obgyn65]

Yes, absolutely. Protect your son first.

So, should I hire a lawyer

 

[frank]

Is deferred adjudication an option? I used this process on a speeding ticket. You do not plead guilty. The offense does not go on your record. You do pay the fine. And as long as you do not have a similar offense within some time period (6 months) the matter disappears. Worked well enough for a speeding ticket. But not sure if it applies to this scenario. You could ask the county courthouse or whereever the ticket was issued from.

I have done this with my granddaughters when they got their first traffic tickets. it worked. I just paid the fine and if no other problems was gone in 1 year, no record of it. In this case I called the county attorney and ask if there were any alternatives to court and he said deferment but it would have to be handled through my attorney and that is what I did.

 

[eytonxav]

Found this thread online which may provide some insight regarding deferred adjudication and expungement in Texas:

Expungement in Texas for a Class C Misdemeanor

 

[sailor]

Expungement does not do anything when applying for US citizenship. You still need to disclose it. See http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf page 25.
Granted, the officer will probably not deny your application just because this one occurrence, but why to increase risk?

 

[eytonxav]

Expungement does not do anything when applying for US citizenship. You still need to disclose it. See http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf page 25.
Granted, the officer will probably not deny your application just because this one occurrence, but why to increase risk?

I can't speak with respect to citizenship applications, but expungement may be of value in the future with respect to job applications. Bush's daughter had an alcohol excursion a few years, but IIRC it was expunged from her record. Speeding tickets that show up on your record can also cause insurance rates to raise, so this too may be something you do not want permanently on your record.

 

[Texas Proud]

Found this thread online which may provide some insight regarding deferred adjudication and expungement in Texas:

Expungement in Texas for a Class C Misdemeanor

Expungement does not do anything when applying for US citizenship. You still need to disclose it. See http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf page 25.
Granted, the officer will probably not deny your application just because this one occurrence, but why to increase risk?

I saw the info on expungement.... I would rather not get to that point, but if we do I will definately do that...


I have been looking at the info on citizenship... I do not think we have to disclose it since he qualifies due to me being one and my wife getting hers... still, I do not want him to have a record anyhow...

 

[Texas Proud]

To update: We have not heard anything since the first contact, but my wife went to talk to an assistant principal at another school where she student taught and subs all the time. He said it is not something to panic about since it is his first time and will more than likely not be a charge.

He gave us a name of a lawyer and I have been researching for some lawyers myself. I will be doing some interviews with them over the next week. From what I understand, we will probably not hear anything for months, so I have some time.

There is the possibility of deferred adjudication.... but some of what I have read is that it is not alway offered. Another reason to hire a lawyer.

So yes, I am hiring a lawyer as I do not want to get caught in some technicality that a little knowledge could have prevented, or miss out on something that could have helped us.

Thanks for all the input. I had thought that I would need to hire a lawyer from the start, but wanted to find out if someone had gone through this themselves.

 

[MichaelB]

To update: We have not heard anything since the first contact, but my wife went to talk to an assistant principal at another school where she student taught and subs all the time. He said it is not something to panic about since it is his first time and will more than likely not be a charge.

He gave us a name of a lawyer and I have been researching for some lawyers myself. I will be doing some interviews with them over the next week. From what I understand, we will probably not hear anything for months, so I have some time.

There is the possibility of deferred adjudication.... but some of what I have read is that it is not alway offered. Another reason to hire a lawyer.

So yes, I am hiring a lawyer as I do not want to get caught in some technicality that a little knowledge could have prevented, or miss out on something that could have helped us.

Thanks for all the input. I had thought that I would need to hire a lawyer from the start, but wanted to find out if someone had gone through this themselves.

I think your approach is fine.

 

[harley]

Plus, if your son is going to become an American citizen, he needs to understand about our litigious society and how you can't open a lemonade stand or collect bottles for the return deposit without involving a horde of lawyers. He may actually be able to get some extra credit out of this experience.

 

[sundance]

Please reread "Growing Olders" post as he said it all much better then me!! As a parent though you should get to the bottom of this by talking with your son and always try to do the best by your child especially since your son has never been involved in anything like this before. DO NOT TRUST THE SCHOOL or any school advisor because it is "their job" to look after "the school's best interest". It is YOUR Job" to look after "your son's best interest" but don't bury your head in the sand either. We all make mistakes & hopefully we learn a life lesson without having to pay too big a price. We cant compare ourselves to Bush's Family or Obama Family or some CEO family as they just ALL hire each others kids regardless of prior problems. Remember after your son's case gets dismissed you only have a short window of opportunity to expunge his records. Follow up & double check these records too. A "C" summons is not to be taken lightly. Again speak with your son so that he too clearly understands his actions and how it will impact his future and his reputation.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Late to the thread and lots of good advice from everyone. Lawyering up makes the most sense, and you could even speak to public interest entities (e.g., the ACLU or minority-rights organization) if you think you have a case of discrimination/violation of civil rights by the school against your son. In fact, I've heard of cases where it has been alleged that the school failed to provide a safe learning environment by turning a blind eye to bullying. A little Googling turned up the following in Texas:

Texas