Tag Archives: hit and run
Case Results: Possession of Criminal Instruments and More
Positive Results on Hit and Run, DWI and Assault-Family Member Cases
Today was a fairly busy attorney day, and I was in a bunch of courts. My first stop was a hit and run case. This hit and run case was different than most cases since my client was accused of hitting a cement post in front of a business (not another vehicle as we typically see). A lot of people don’t realize that if you damage property you should either contact the owner, or leave a note. Luckily, we helped our client get an agreement to dismiss this hit and run case, since no one was injured. Everyone was only concerned that the business is made whole with regards to money.
Had a quick reset on an assault-family member case that is very defensible and is likely either going to get dismissed or end up in trial. We also did a reset on a DWI case where we are still waiting on evidence. We finally got the dash cam video, so I need to review that with my client so we can decide together how we are going to proceed.
Possession of Criminal Instruments Case
And the most interesting case I saw today is a charge that in my opinion is pretty silly. Its along the lines of possession of criminal instruments. You can be charged if an officer believes that you are using normal household items, and were planning on using them in a crime. For example: a person gets charged with breaking into a car in his past. If an officer pulls him over today and he has things in his car that look like they could be used to break into a car (crow bars, tire irons, bricks, pliers, etc), you can be charged with a crime. This is pretty silly in my opinion, unless there is darn good proof that something was imminent. If someone is just driving around with tools, I think it is ridiculous to charge them. It calls for way too many assumptions on the officer’s part.
Subjective Charges and its Impact
The problem in general with charges that are subjective, is even if the officers are wrong, the defendant is still affected even if his case is dismissed. They go to jail, they get their vehicle towed, they have to pay a bond to get out of jail, they have to spend big money on a lawyer, they have to miss work multiple times to go to court, etc. It’s not fair, but it’s one of the many problems with the legal system.
Case Results
- DWI – Reset
- FSGI – Set for Dismissal
- Assault-FM – Reset
Case Result: Hit and Run
Hit and Run / Failure to Stop and Give Information Reset for our Client
Went to court today on a hit and run case. The facts of the hit and run case do not make much sense. My client is accused of not leaving her information at the time of the accident.
The case is confusing, I am going to have to spend some time investigating this one. First of all, the complainants are saying that the accident was not their fault (they hit my client from behind, their insurance already paid for my clients car, their insurance already settled with my clients personal injury lawyer). It was obviously their fault, so I don’t know where that comes from. Police reports were made days later, it’s a big “he said she said” on who left first. We will see what happens with that. We ended up getting a reset on the hit and run case, we need to get proof of certain items for the next setting.
DWI Case and Elevator Problems at the Criminal Courthouse
I also dropped of a DVD to make a copy of a very interesting DWI case. My client claims that there were camera crews recording his arrest, so that will be interesting to see.
The unfortunate part about dropping that video off was that it took me 30 minutes to get from the second floor back down to the first floor. There are like 10 elevators in the criminal courthouse and they never seem to work. We really either need to get a new building or we need to trade with the civil courthouse. It’s crazy that the civil courthouse is so much better suited to handle the load of people that the criminal courthouse takes in on a daily basis, but the civil courthouse is always empty. They have wonderful elevators, and even escalators that allow individuals to choose how they will get to where they need to go. The criminal courthouse is a huge fire hazard, and let’s hope there is never a situation where the building needs to be evacuated.
I am back in the Benavides & Serrano office now preparing to meet with a client on an interesting Aggravated Assault of a Family Member case. And then I have a couple of consultations this afternoon as well. I am definitely ready for the weekend. I’m excited to get to spend some time with my wife and daughter and enjoy my first father’s day with them. Not to mention its US Open Weekend, and we will have a game 7 in the NBA finals! It should be a good weekend.
Today’s Results
- Failure to Stop and Give Information – Reset