Reduced to petty
Warrant Quashed
Pled down to Probation
Charges Dismissed
Charges Dismissed
Found Not Guilty at Trial
Conditional Discharge
1 yr Conditional discharge
Granted for 2012 Case
Found Not Guilty
Pled down to supervision
Found not Guilty at Trial
Case: JFRA
Charges: 2024OP00002055
Civil Order of Protection
Facts: Our client, JFRA, was the respondent in the Order of protection matter. The petitioner was alleging that our client had been harassing her via text messages, threatening to call DCFS/Police, and had verbally/emotionally/physically abused her in the past before leaving the relationship. The petition and our client have a shared 4 year old child that our client has shared custody of. That child started coming back to the client’s house with bruises, cuts, and scratches. The client had previously called DCFS and the police but there was not enough to show abuse.
Actions: Client was adamant that he did NOT want to lose access to his shared child. That was the remedy that the petitioner was asking for and the OP would, if granted, cause the client not to see his child for 2 years. It was clear from the way the petitioner was acting in court that there was no room for talking/negotiating. I spoke to the client previously and requested that he bring in any and all photos of injuries to his child and screenshots of text messages. I discussed the allegations contained within the petition with the client and he was clear that it was all lies and exaggerations. On the date of the hearing, the petitioner refused to hand over customary discovery as required in OP hearings. Instead, she required the judge to force her to do so. The petitioner reviewed with me the evidence she was going to present. All the conversations, both verbal and the text messages, were in Spanish so it took a while to completely go through the evidence. Once the hearing started, it took nearly 3 hours of testimony from the petitioner and her witnesses. Those witnesses included the petitioner herself, her two minor daughters, and her now boyfriend. For each witness, I had the opportunity to object to several statements and evidence introduced and to cross examine those witnesses. Each of those witnesses presented a similar story of a distraught petitioner being harrassed by our client and feeling controlled by our client. After the petitioner rested on their case, I presented our case-in-chief. The client spoke relatively briefly because we had prepared him amply for how to defend himself against the allegations, he only testified for around 20 minutes. In the end the judge ruled in favor of our client. The judge DENIED the order of protection stating that while the actions taken by our client might be considered rude, it did NOT raise to the level of granting an order of protection that would take away his child for 2 years.
D.G.
Citation: Class A Misdemeanor – Driving w/ Suspended License due to DUI / Operate Uninsured Motor Vehicle / Failure to Reduce Speed
(Facing up to 364 days in jail &/or fines up to $2500)
Backstory: Client got a DUI in Feb. 2023 & blew a .22. As a result, his license was suspended for 6 mo. Client was driving & slid on ice, hitting a fence.
What We Did to Win: We instructed the client to pay the fee to get his license reinstated & the case was set for trial. The client was able to get his license reinstated and brought proof of this to court on the trial date. As a result of this, the ASA made an offer of Supervision and we were prepared to accept the offer. However, by the time the case was set for trial, the witness (police officer) had not come to court. Since there were no other parties involved we answered ready for trial knowing that the State would not be able to prove their case without the officer present. The case was dismissed completely.
Final Result: Case dismissed.
N.D.Citation: Class A Misdemeanor – Speeding 35+ MPH Over Limit (Facing up to 364 days in jail &/or fines up to $2500 + revocation of his parole)Backstory: Client was on parole out of Colorado for another case & he was concerned because any misdemeanor offense would put him in violation of his parole.What We Did to Win: Negotiated with the prosecutor to amend the ticket to a petty speeding offense, so that it wouldn’t be a misdemeanor placing him in violation of his parole.Final Result: Received 3 months court supervision & minimal fine. No effect on his parole & no misdemeanor on his record.
A.G.
She was charged with a felony count of reckless discharge of a firearm, and I arranged a deal with the prosecutor where she received first offender gun probation, which resulted in her avoiding a felony conviction. This happened due to mitigation I sent, which showed that she is a productive member of society.
D.B.
He was charged with felony aggravated domestic battery, and I demanded trial from the beginning. As a result, the state was not prepared for trial as they could not gather witnesses. This resulted in a dismissal and him being released from custody.
A.C.
His citation was for driving on a suspended license (misdemeanor). He had 3 moving violations, and we vacated one of those cases. Once it was vacated the offense was amended from a misdemeanor to the petty offense of driving with no license on person and he received 120 days court supervision.