Mr. Mitchell’s client was accused of Attempted Assault 4 and Harassment. The maximum jail sentence was one year if convicted of both. This case was eligible for the deferred sentencing program – but that option would require domestic violence treatment (and other obligations). So, they went to trial. At the trial, Mr. Mitchell stressed to the jury that his client’s actions might have been rude and regrettable but that he never intended to injure the alleged victim. To the judge Mr. Mitchell argued that the prosecutor failed to establish a ‘domestic’ relationship between the two people. Mr. Mitchell won both arguments! The jury found his client Not Guilty on the Attempted Assault charge and the Judge ruled that there was not sufficient evidence that there was a domestic relationship. In the end, Mr. Mitchell’s client avoided the conviction for the Attempted Assault, avoided any jail time, avoided having to do any domestic violence treatment, and only received one year of bench probation for the harassment. This means that all he needs to do is not commit any other crime in the next year, pay a small fine, and he will be eligible to have the Harassment charge expunged.
Congratulations to Ryan Lhotsky on a Jury Trial Win!
Mr. Lhotsky’s client was accused of Assault 4 and Harassment. The total potential jail sentence if he were to be convicted would be 1 Year and 179 days of jail (364 days for Assault and 180 for Harassment). At trial, here is what Mr. Lhotsky proved: The alleged victim was drunk and playing with the household dog. In the process, the alleged victim hit herself, or was hit by the dog, with a dog toy. This upset her so she began beating the dog and screaming. Mr. Lhotsky’s client grabbed the dog and left with the dog. Neighbors called the police due to the disturbance. No one believed it was the dog toy that hit the alleged victim until Mr. Lhotsky got his opportunity to prove his case at trial. Both charges were dismissed after Mr. Lhotsky cross examined the alleged victim.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on an Attempted Murder Jury Trial Victory!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of Attempted Murder, Assault 1, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Rather than tallying up all the potential prison time that Mr. Beach’s client was facing if convicted, let’s just accept that he would be locked up for a very long time. The case stemmed from a fight where a man was stabbed – he lived. There was no disputing that Mr. Beach’s client was waiting to confront a man about a dispute and that a physical fight ensued and that the other man was ultimately stabbed. But, at trial, Mr. Beach established three huge facts for the jury. First, that other man actually started the physical fight. Second, it wasn’t Mr. Beach’s client that actually stabbed the man. And third, Mr. Beach’s client had no way to know that someone else was going to stab this man during this fight. The jury returned a Not Guilty on all charges brought against Mr. Beach’s client!
Congratulations to Gabriel Walsh on another Jury Trial Win for a Felony Strangulation case!
Mr. Walsh’s client was accused of Strangulation. This is a felony charge that carries up to five years of prison. At trial, Mr. Walsh focused on the inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s story. She had given conflicting accounts of if she had difficulty breathing and if so for how long. Also, there were no marks on her neck nor any other corroborating physical evidence. By focusing on these issues, Mr. Walsh obtained a verdict of Not Guilty on this felony charge! Mr. Walsh’s client was convicted of accompanying misdemeanors, but by defeating the felony charge, Mr. Walsh’s client received probation for those accompanying misdemeanors.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on another Jury Trial Win!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of Felony Assault 4, Misdemeanor Assault 4, Harassment (Class A), and Harassment (Class B). Altogether, Mr. Beach’s client faced up to one day less than seven and a half years incarceration as a maximum. The basic facts are that Mr. Beach’s client shoved the victim into a wall, the victim’s teenager daughter came into the room and joined into the tussle, and the victim was knocked unconscious. At trial, the teenager admitted during Mr. Beach’s cross examination that she was out to get Mr. Beach’s client and he was really just defending himself from her. Accordingly, the Misdemeanor Assault and the Class B Harassment were then dismissed before the trial ended. That left the Felony Assault and the other Harassment. The jury found Mr. Beach’s client Not Guilty of the Felony Assault 4, but guilty of the misdemeanor Harassment for shoving the victim. Overall, an outstanding win for the defense far exceeding the best possible negotiated resolution.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on another Bench Trial Win!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of Strangulation (a felony with five years imprisonment maximum) and Interference with Making a Report (364 days imprisonment maximum). At trial, the evidence showed clearly that an incident occurred where Mr. Beach’s client had grabbed the victim in the chin/neck area. However, Mr. Beach established that the grab lasted between four to six seconds. The victim was never unable to breathe. Also, Mr. Beach’s client didn’t actually prevent a call to 911. This trial was to a judge, not a jury. The judge found Mr. Beach’s client Not Guilty of both Strangulation and the Interference with Making a Report charge. The judge concluded that Mr. Beach’s client had tried to strangle the victim so found him guilty of Attempted Strangulation. Attempted Strangulation is a misdemeanor – so, prison was averted.
Congratulations to Jason Mitchell on another Jury Trial Win!
Mr. Michell’s client was accused of Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana. This charge was enhanced -meaning made worse for him – because the vehicle he was operating was a ‘commercial’ vehicle. The key to the case was to challenge the evidence of intoxication. During extensive cross examination of the police witnesses, Mr. Mitchell used one officer to establish for the jury what constitutes evidence of being intoxicated by marijuana. Then, Mr. Mitchell used another officer to establish what was actually observed in his client. During his closing argument to the Jury, Mr. Mitchell connected the testimony of the two officers to convince the jury that what the prosecutor must proved for a marijuana conviction was not actually proved. The Jury quickly returned a Not Guilty verdict!
Congratulations to Ryan Lhotsky on a Jury Trial win – where the Prosecutor gave up!
Mr. Lhotsky’s client was accused of Assault 4 and Harassment. If convicted, his client faced up to a year and a half of incarceration (technically, one day less than a year and a half). At trial, the prosecutor called the alleged victim to testify. Once any witness testifies, the other attorney gets to cross examine that witness. During Mr. Lhotsky’s cross examination of the alleged victim, Mr. Lhotsky established that his client had only defended herself. The prosecutor tried to rescue his case by submitting a video of the interview of the alleged victim’s initial statement to the police. But, given how well the self-defense issue was established, the prosecutor then gave up and dismissed the case before the jury was required to render a verdict.
Congratulations to Joe Metcalfe on a brilliant legal defense that obtained a Not Guilty Verdict!
Mr. Metcalfe’s client was issued a citation by a police officer requiring the client to appear in court. However, the officer did not arrest and take Mr. Metcalfe’s client to the jail. Mr. Metcalfe’s client didn’t appear in court when he was required to do so. He was then charged with the crime of Failure to Appear. This carries up to 364 days of jail. Mr. Metcalfe found some obscure case law that indicated that if a person was never actually put in custody (formally arrested or otherwise) a subsequent failure to appear in court does not qualify for the criminal charge of Failure to Appear. At trial, Mr. Metcalfe produced that case law and proved that the facts of his case were exactly as described in the case law. Accordingly, the judge found Mr. Metcalfe’s client Not Guilty!
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on yet another Jury Trial Win!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of Felony Assault 4 (carries up to 5 years of prison), Criminal Mischief 2 (carries up to 364 days) and Harassment (carries up to 6 months). Mr. Beach’s client was involved in an incident where a vacuum broke over a pregnant woman’s body. The best offer obtained through negotiations was to receive probation but with an agreement that Mr. Beach’s client would receive 13 months of prison if he broke any rules of probation. They went to trial instead. At trial, Mr. Beach agreed to the basic facts, but the issue was whether it was an accident or on purpose. The jury agreed that it could reasonably have been an accident. Therefore, Mr. Beach’s client was found Not Guilty.