mommabear319
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I posted my case back in July. It was recommended to hire a lawyer in place of the public defender who wanted my 14 year old son to plead no contest when he has said from the beginning he did not hit the young man. We found a lawyer who specializes in child criminal law.
My son and I spent 3 hours talking to the lawyer. We explained why we did not want to settle for a no contest. He said he was one to go the extra mile. He said when school started again to find kids who witnessed the fight, and knew it was not my son who was involved, and ask if he or she would be willing to write a statement attesting to this. Some of the kids who were friends with my son did not come back to the school this year, including the kid who actually hit the other young man. We are working to get the statements and letters of recommendation he said we should get. In the meantime, we had another hearing. The lawyer asked for a continuance and after we had our new court date, we stepped outside to talk. The lawyer said that the defendant's parents had hired a very aggressive lawyer and gave my son about one minute to decide if he would be willing to do some community service, not have to plead guilty and he would have a closed juvenile record which could not be accessed by the public. At 18 he could request to have expunged.
My son has been told that a conviction for battery could keep him from going to college or getting a decent job. I've spoken to him and he feels he is being scared into taking this option. I 'm concerned that the message this sends is "don't stand up for yourself even if you are innocent if the other guy has a better lawyer or there's a chance you could be found guilty". This seems like the same thing he was offered by the public defender - a no contest plea. In our initial conversation, the lawyer seemed to understand why we wanted to fight the charges. I don't understand why he is recommending this other option. Isn't the burden of proof of the acusation on the prosecution ?
My son has a friend who left the lockers while the fight was still going on and is willing to testify.
One other thing I have a question about. The assault took place in the school gym locker. During the gym class, as rumors were flying that the young man who actually did hit the young man was looking to fight him, the young man went to one of the teachers (350 kids and 7 teachers monitoring the P.E. class) and said someone wanted to fight. The teacher called the other boy over, said a few words to both and then sent them back to the activity. Were there additional measures that should have been taken to possibly have prevented the fight ?
I posted my case back in July. It was recommended to hire a lawyer in place of the public defender who wanted my 14 year old son to plead no contest when he has said from the beginning he did not hit the young man. We found a lawyer who specializes in child criminal law.
My son and I spent 3 hours talking to the lawyer. We explained why we did not want to settle for a no contest. He said he was one to go the extra mile. He said when school started again to find kids who witnessed the fight, and knew it was not my son who was involved, and ask if he or she would be willing to write a statement attesting to this. Some of the kids who were friends with my son did not come back to the school this year, including the kid who actually hit the other young man. We are working to get the statements and letters of recommendation he said we should get. In the meantime, we had another hearing. The lawyer asked for a continuance and after we had our new court date, we stepped outside to talk. The lawyer said that the defendant's parents had hired a very aggressive lawyer and gave my son about one minute to decide if he would be willing to do some community service, not have to plead guilty and he would have a closed juvenile record which could not be accessed by the public. At 18 he could request to have expunged.
My son has been told that a conviction for battery could keep him from going to college or getting a decent job. I've spoken to him and he feels he is being scared into taking this option. I 'm concerned that the message this sends is "don't stand up for yourself even if you are innocent if the other guy has a better lawyer or there's a chance you could be found guilty". This seems like the same thing he was offered by the public defender - a no contest plea. In our initial conversation, the lawyer seemed to understand why we wanted to fight the charges. I don't understand why he is recommending this other option. Isn't the burden of proof of the acusation on the prosecution ?
My son has a friend who left the lockers while the fight was still going on and is willing to testify.
One other thing I have a question about. The assault took place in the school gym locker. During the gym class, as rumors were flying that the young man who actually did hit the young man was looking to fight him, the young man went to one of the teachers (350 kids and 7 teachers monitoring the P.E. class) and said someone wanted to fight. The teacher called the other boy over, said a few words to both and then sent them back to the activity. Were there additional measures that should have been taken to possibly have prevented the fight ?
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