Mr. Walsh’s client was accused of a domestic violence Assault 4 and Harassment. If he were to be convicted of both charges, Mr. Walsh’s client would face up to one day less than a year and a half in jail. At trial, Mr. Walsh’s theme was that the police had a preexisting narrative that led them to automatically arrest Mr. Walsh’s client and not the woman accusing him. Towards that argument, Mr. Walsh entered into evidence photos showing that his client had multiple bite marks on his body. During cross examination of the accuser Mr. Walsh confronted her with the fact that Mr. Walsh’s client had only hit her to get her off him and to stop her biting him. Mr. Walsh’s summation at closing argument was that we don’t entirely know who was the aggressor and therefore guilt beyond a reasonable doubt was never established. Accordingly, Mr. Walsh’s client was found Not Guilty of both charges.
Congratulations to Joe Metcalfe on obtaining dismissal of the case just after Jury Selection!
Mr. Metcalfe’s client was accused of Harassment. This crime carries up to six months of jail if convicted. During Mr. Metcalfe’s investigation of the case, he discovered that the initial statements of the alleged victim were not accurate and that she was unreliable as a witness. Naturally, Mr. Metcalfe declined all plea offers and proceeded to trial. One of the initial stages of a trial is the selection of who will be in the jury. This process begins with the defense attorney and then the prosecutor talking to the people who make up the ‘jury pool.’ Although the average person might not notice, it is normal that during this process that the attorneys are sounding out the members of the jury pool on the topics that the attorneys intend to argue during the trial. Once the jury selection process was completed, the case went into recess for a lunch break. During that lunch break, the prosecutor agreed to talk directly with the complaining witness. His conclusion from that conversation was that he could not overcome Mr. Metcalfe’s defense. Accordingly, when the trial resumed, the prosecutor submitted a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Mr. Metcalfe’s client.
Congratulations to Joe Metcalf on obtaining dismissal of a Measure 11 (Nearly 6 Years of Prison) Case!
Mr. Metcalf’s client was accused of swerving his car to hit head on his (now former) girlfriend with the car. The charge was Assault 2. This is one of the ‘Measure 11’ crimes. This means that if Mr. Metcalf’s client was convicted, he should receive 70 months (5.8 years) of prison (there is a way to sometimes avoid this full sentence).
By relying primarily on the investigation and evidence collected by the police (as well as Mr. Metcalf’s investigation), Mr. Metcalf convinced the prosecutor that this case should be dropped without having to subject Mr. Metcalf’s client to a trial. The marks on the car and the lack of actual injuries to the (very intoxicated at the time she made the claim) girlfriend did not support the allegation. After the prosecutor asked Mr. Metcalf to make a plea offer and Mr. Metcalf’s response was that there will not be a plea to anything, a motion to dismiss the case came from the prosecutor not long after.
Congratulations to Kylie Cin on another Jury Trial DUII Win (this was a drug DUII allegation)!
Ms. Cin’s client was accused of DUII. The prosecutor argued that Ms. Cin’s client had been in an accident and had methamphetamine in his system. The police testified that it was apparent from the way Ms. Cin’s client looked that he was under the influence of drugs. But the evidence showed that the car was pulled over to the side of the road (not crashed), that the car was experiencing mechanical problems (which explained why Ms. Cin’s client had pulled to the side of the road), and most interestingly, the police didn’t take any photos of Ms. Cin’s client – even though his appearance was a significant factor in why they felt he was intoxicated. The jury was not convinced and ruled that Ms. Cin’s client was Not Guilty!
As a side note, Ms. Cin’s client came to trial dressed as if he was on his way to a Grateful Dead concert – or so some have described him. He was even wearing a tie-dyed shirt. That’s just the kind of guy he is. As a recommendation, don’t do that.
Congratulations to Kylie Cin on a Jury Trial DUII Win!
Ms. Cin’s client was accused of DUII. The prosecutor’s evidence was that Ms. Cin’s client had a blood alcohol level of 0.78 and was clearly affected by the alcohol due to his slurred speech and poor performance on the field sobriety tests. Unfortunately for the prosecutor’s case, the body cam video showed that Ms. Cin’s client was not slurring his speech and that he passed the field sobriety tests. Once Ms. Cin showed all the body cam video to the jury - and reminded the prosecutor that 0.78 is less than 0.8 - the jury found Ms. Cin’s client Not Guilty.
Congratulations to Angus Dunlavey on another Bench Trial Win - Obtaining a Not Guilty on 2 of 3 Charges and Substantially Less Jail Time!
Mr. Dunlavey’s client was accused of Animal Neglect 1 and two counts of Animal Neglect 2. The potential jail time if convicted of all charges was 2 years (technically 1 year and 364 days). The allegations were that Mr. Dunlavey’s client had failed to obtain veterinary care for a dog due to flees, a disease, and when the dog was beaten up by someone else. The case came to the attention of law enforcement when Mr. Dunlavey’s client called animal control asking for help with finding resources to help care for her dog when the dog was beaten up by someone else. The prosecutor wanted a plea to the greatest charge (Animal Neglect 1) and an agreement to 30 days of jail. At trial, Mr. Dunlavey obtained a Not Guilty on the Animal Neglect 1 and on one of the lesser Animal Neglect 2 charges. His client received 2 days of jail. So, Mr. Dunlavey’s client was only convicted of one of the lesser charges and received substantially less jail time than the government wanted.
Congratulations to Tyler Beach on another Acquittal!
Mr. Beach’s client was accused of Assault 3. This carries up to 5 years of prison. Essentially, Mr. Beach’s client was accused of participating in a brawl where one person on the other side was beaten up by a friend of Mr. Beach’s client. The basis of the Assault 3 charge was the accusation that Mr. Beach’s client was helping to beat up that one person. At trial, Mr. Beach proved that these were two groups fighting but that Mr. Beach’s client did not help beat up that one person (he was busy fighting someone else – the prosecutor didn’t file any charges regarding that person). Accordingly, Mr. Beach’s client was found Not Guilty.
Congratulations to Gabe Walsh on another Jury Trial win – one where the alleged victim was held in contempt of court!
Mr. Walsh’s client was accused of Assault 4 and Harassment. The maximum potential jail sentence if convicted of both charges was one day short of one and half years. The entirety of the prosecutor’s evidence rested on the complaining alleged victim. So, Mr. Walsh knew that cross-examination was the key to any potential victory. Mr. Walsh also knew from his pre-trial investigation that the alleged victim was a bit ‘off.’ So, through tone and technique Mr. Walsh worked to ‘trigger the crazy.’ By the end, the judge held the alleged victim in contempt of court – a finding that meant she faced up to six months of jail herself – and the judge determined that there was no viable basis for the prosecutor’s case because the alleged victim was to unreliable.
Honorable Mention to Kylie Cin on Getting Exactly What She Wanted at Trial!
Ms. Cin had a client with both felony and misdemeanor crimes alleged. Ms. Cin made an offer to the prosecutor to resolve the case. That offer was to dismiss the felony allegation and to have her client plead guilty to the misdemeanor crime. The prosecutor rejected the offer and would only accept an offer that resulted in Ms. Cin’s client pleading guilty to a felony. So, Ms. Cin took the case to trial. At trial, Ms. Cin’s client was found Not Guilty of the felony and guilty of the misdemeanor. So, the trial resulted in exactly the same outcome as Ms. Cin’s offer.
Congratulations to Kylie Cin on another Jury Trial Win!
Ms. Cin’s client was accused of 14 crimes – Attempted Assault 2, two counts of Felony Assault 4, Coercion, three counts of Strangulation, five counts of Misdemeanor Assault 4, Unlawful Use of a GPS System, and Harassment (Class A). In total, if convicted of everything, the maximum ‘indeterminate’ prison time was 47 years. The entire case was based upon the claims of the alleged victim. During cross examination, Ms. Cin systematically established that the alleged victim could not be trusted. As an example, the alleged victim claimed that Ms. Cin’s client had taken her phone and trapped her in a room. So, Ms. Cin used the alleged victim’s texts messages to Ms. Cin’s client talking about how she was out of the home – during a time that the alleged victim claimed to not have a phone and while supposedly trapped. After proving that the claims were all lies, the Jury returned a Not Guilty on all charges!