Mr. Beach’s client was a porch pirate. There was no question that he had stolen a package from someone’s porch. The problem was that the prosecutor filed a ‘mail theft’ charge so that if convicted, Mr. Beach’s client was looking at 26 months of prison. At trial, Mr. Beach had his client testify to exactly what he had done – without denying anything. Then Mr. Beach argued that what his client had done was Theft in the Second Degree (a misdemeanor) and not the mail theft charge. The result proved that Mr. Beach was right. Mr. Beach’s client was found guilty of the misdemeanor theft that he actually did commit and not guilty of the 26 month prison mail theft charge!
Congratulations to Thomas Goldman on getting another child returned home!
The Department of Human (DHS) services had removed a child from a home and the court ordered the parents to do certain things in order to get the child returned. Mr. Goldman’s client did those things, but DHS said that wasn’t good enough. Naturally, Mr. Goldman addressed that issue to the judge and the judge agreed that the parents had proved their home was safe and ordered the child returned against the wishes of DHS.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on a bench trial win!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of violating a ‘no contact’ rule by sending emojis by text message. There is no right to a jury for these cases, so, Mr. Beach had to do the trial to a judge. Nevertheless, during cross examination of the accuser admitted that she actually didn’t know who sent her those text messages and that they didn’t come from Mr. Beach’s client’s phone number. According, the allegation was dismissed. This was the fourth win in a row Mr. Beach has had with this client!
Congratulations to David Carter on a Domestic Violence Assault and Harassment Jury Win!
A husband and wife were going through a rather bitter divorce. Wife called the police and said that husband beat her up. He denied the allegation; but, receiving such an accusation, the police arrested husband. So, wife automatically got the house because once a person is accused of domestic violence the accused has to move away. Naturally, husband wanted a trial. David Carter took that case to trial and pointed out all the many inconsistencies in the wife’s different stories about how this supposedly happened. The prosecutor argued that the differences were only about the details and so that shouldn’t matter. Mr. Carter pointed out that whether and how husband hit wife is the crime he is accused of, not a mere detail. The jury returned a verdict recognizing wife’s motives to lie and the fact that every interview she gave (including during Mr. Carter’s cross examination of her) resulted in a new set of alleged facts.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach, yet again, on another domestic violence win!
This was another case where Mr. Beach’s client declined the domestic violence deferred sentencing program option. During cross examination of the alleged ‘victim,’ Mr. Beach established that his (‘victim’s’) story directly contradicted the evidence apparent in the photographs. Further, Mr. Beach entered the ‘victim’s’ 911 call to show his actual motivation in making the allegations was to find a way to get Mr. Beach’s client evicted. Not guilty verdict!
Congratulations to Thomas Goldman on keeping a family intact despite the desires of the department of human services!
Mr. Goldman represented a parent who home schooled and had used drugs in the past. The department of human services (child welfare division) wished to remove Mr. Goldman’s client’s children because of these two facts. At the shelter care hearing (the court hearing to decide if children should be removed), Mr. Goldman convinced the judge that since his client was submitting clean drug tests, had people stopping by during the day, and was enrolling the kids in a school, the kids should stay home despite any fears the government may have that his client might still be using drugs. The judge agreed and the kids stayed home!
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on another domestic violence case win!
This was another of our cases eligible for the domestic violence deferred sentencing (DVDS) program. Client declined the DVDS program and asked for a trial. At the trial, there is a stage when the defense may make motions after the prosecutor has finished offering all of the evidence they can get in front of the jury. At that stage, Mr. Beach argued for a motion for judgment of acquittal because all that could be proved is that the ‘victim’ had been pointing again and again in Mr. Beach’s client’s face and all he (Mr. Beach’s client) did was push away the hand from his face. Dismissal granted!
Congratulations to Thomas Goldman on another jury win on a DUII and Criminal Mischief case!
Someone threw rocks through another person’s window and drove away. Mr. Goldman’s client was accused of being the person throwing those rocks and when he was found, he was parked and apparently intoxicated. During trial, Mr. Goldman dove into the fact that there were significant weaknesses in the identification of who threw the rocks and who drove the car. Helpfully, the police couldn’t remember anything about how Mr. Goldman’s client did on the field sobriety tests without reading off of their notes. Mr. Goldman explored the weak memories of all the government’s witnesses and the jury returned a Not Guilty on both charges.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on a second jury win with the same client and the same alleged victim (this was also the sixth victory in a row against the same prosecutor)!
For the second time, this one person alleged that Mr. Beach’s client had assaulted her. The first time, Mr. Beach proved that her claims were not trustworthy – or even physically possible. This time, Mr. Beach again proved that the facts of her claim were not realistic. After a full day of trial, the jury returned a Not Guilty verdict at 7:33 p.m.
Congratulations to Jennelle Johnson on a Motion to Suppress win the day of trial!
One of the aspects of living in a free society is that the government can’t randomly grab you and search your body and property. In this case, the police approached a man for ‘loitering’ and told him they wanted to search him. He placed his hand on his head and turned around as instructed by the police. Ms. Johnson convinced the judge that submitting to the power of men with guns, batons, and badges does not constitute voluntary consent. Suppression granted and case dismissed!