Lately, a large percentage of prospective criminal clients have been calling in and asking if we can get their case dismissed. They seem dismayed when I tell them the truth which is: "maybe, but don't count on it."
I am not sure why many defendants are suddenly thinking that the prosecutor's office will just walk away from a case. Perhaps they feel that the prosecutor will "see the light" and just give up. While that does occasionally happen, it is fairly rare. And when it does happen, it usually happens right before the trial begins, as in the day before or the day of.
Even if the facts are weak, many prosecutors will hold out and see if the defendant pleads guilty to something. Many people cave into the pressure and just want to get it over with. The best bet if you are innocent is prepare a vigorous defense and send the message that you are not going down without a fight. Then, and only then, they may decide to save themselves the trouble and their office the money and voluntarily dismiss the case. But again, don't count on it.
Ryan Maesen
Grand Rapids Criminal Attorney
www.maesenlawfirm.com
www.westmichigancriminaldefense.com
Thursday, October 31, 2013
New Location
I can't believe that I have not updated this yet, but our new office location is 1632 Leonard St. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504. The move actually took place in July. We are the only tenants presently on the second floor. The phone number and website have stayed the same. A street sign should be up in the near future.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504. The move actually took place in July. We are the only tenants presently on the second floor. The phone number and website have stayed the same. A street sign should be up in the near future.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
The Snake Oil People Sell
This will be short. I am getting tired of all the people calling me on a daily basis trying to get my hard earned money to list me on their website or somehow get my website to come up on page one of Google. They must think I am stupid or something. I know the legal market is insanely competitive, but I am not a fool. Please stop bothering me. Most of what you are selling is a complete waste of my money and time.
www.maesenlawfirm.com
www.maesenlawfirm.com
Monday, July 1, 2013
It can wise to fight
The majority of people charged with a crime end up taking a plea deal. That means that the prosecutor offers them an opportunity to plea down to a lesser charge or a lesser penalty if they plea guilty and avoid a trial. This can make a lot of sense for some people.
If you are a first time offender and can get a deferred sentence or a diversionary program where you have no permanent record, this can be an enticing offer. If you are not a first time offender but are facing your first felony charge, an opportunity to plea down to a misdemeanor can be a good thing; particularly if you are concerned about getting a job as a convicted felon. Sometimes just staying out of jail is enough to make this worthwhile. Even an innocent person will sometimes take a plea deal to avoid the risk of a lengthy prison sentence if he were to lose at trial.
On the other hand, there are times where people should think long and hard about the consequences of just "pleading out." For example, if the state's case isn't very strong, you may very well get a jury to return a not guilty verdict. It can and does happen. Also, occasionally the prosecutor will make a better offer nearer a trial or may even dismiss the case outright. Having the stomach to hang in there is difficult but can be worth it.
Also, because Michigan tends to punish repeat offenders more severely, avoiding any kind of a record can be to one's long-term advantage. No one thinks that she will get in trouble again, but if she does, having a clean slate the second time around can be a large bargaining chip. Michigan has a number or crimes that become an automatic felony the third time through. Domestic violence, retail fraud, and drunk driving are three common ones.
Those long ago guilty pleas can come back to bite you later on. Think long and hard about the merits of the state's case before accepting any plea offer.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
If you are a first time offender and can get a deferred sentence or a diversionary program where you have no permanent record, this can be an enticing offer. If you are not a first time offender but are facing your first felony charge, an opportunity to plea down to a misdemeanor can be a good thing; particularly if you are concerned about getting a job as a convicted felon. Sometimes just staying out of jail is enough to make this worthwhile. Even an innocent person will sometimes take a plea deal to avoid the risk of a lengthy prison sentence if he were to lose at trial.
On the other hand, there are times where people should think long and hard about the consequences of just "pleading out." For example, if the state's case isn't very strong, you may very well get a jury to return a not guilty verdict. It can and does happen. Also, occasionally the prosecutor will make a better offer nearer a trial or may even dismiss the case outright. Having the stomach to hang in there is difficult but can be worth it.
Also, because Michigan tends to punish repeat offenders more severely, avoiding any kind of a record can be to one's long-term advantage. No one thinks that she will get in trouble again, but if she does, having a clean slate the second time around can be a large bargaining chip. Michigan has a number or crimes that become an automatic felony the third time through. Domestic violence, retail fraud, and drunk driving are three common ones.
Those long ago guilty pleas can come back to bite you later on. Think long and hard about the merits of the state's case before accepting any plea offer.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
Friday, June 28, 2013
Seller's Market
It appears that after several years of a dismal real estate market, that things are finally turning around. The "buyer's market" of the past several years seems to be breaking and turning into a bit of a "seller's market." Whether this is a true seller's market or simply a more normal market it hard to say, but overall it is a sign of good economic health.
Some of the causes of the sluggish market seem to be fading away. For starters, foreclosures are down. These cheaper homes competed with others in the same neighborhood and drove prices down as the banks were anxious to dump their losses. The job market appears to be getting a bit stronger. Not that it is particularly good by historical standards, but it has been slowly improving. And finally, people finally seem to have found a little confidence in the long-term prospects of the area. Home ownership is a major investment and it does have a way of anchoring one the area. After all, if some one wishes to leave Michigan for greener pastures elsewhere but can't take a bath on her house, she is effectively stuck here.
On the other hand, the job market really is not great. And the jobs are not necessarily spread around each industry equally. For example, the legal job market is disastrous in West Michigan. And local government has laid off a lot of people and those jobs don't seem to be coming back. And because wages are still kind of low, prices on homes are not going to shoot up anytime soon. That is bad news for those whose house is underwater.
Only time will tell how long this lasts.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
Some of the causes of the sluggish market seem to be fading away. For starters, foreclosures are down. These cheaper homes competed with others in the same neighborhood and drove prices down as the banks were anxious to dump their losses. The job market appears to be getting a bit stronger. Not that it is particularly good by historical standards, but it has been slowly improving. And finally, people finally seem to have found a little confidence in the long-term prospects of the area. Home ownership is a major investment and it does have a way of anchoring one the area. After all, if some one wishes to leave Michigan for greener pastures elsewhere but can't take a bath on her house, she is effectively stuck here.
On the other hand, the job market really is not great. And the jobs are not necessarily spread around each industry equally. For example, the legal job market is disastrous in West Michigan. And local government has laid off a lot of people and those jobs don't seem to be coming back. And because wages are still kind of low, prices on homes are not going to shoot up anytime soon. That is bad news for those whose house is underwater.
Only time will tell how long this lasts.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
Crime rates are down, but . . .
Statistics have shown that crime is down on a national and statewide level. I suppose this is good. On the other hand, I have noticed an unfortunate side effect to lower crime rates: people who commit minor crimes or crimes where the evidence is not very strong may get charged. In a higher crime era, these types of crimes might simply not warrant precious police and prosecutorial resources. But when things are "slow" on the crime front, it seems that more people get charged with things that seem rather silly.
For example, I have noticed that domestic violence charges seem to have gone up. Also, I have noticed a lot of criminal sexual conduct cases recently. With that one in particular, I know that the evidence in some of these cases is fairly weak. But, for whatever reason, the state is taking more chances charging these people and hoping they plea out. That is frightening for the defendant and his entire family.
It is a very sad flipside to the coin of lower crime overall. Be careful out there.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
For example, I have noticed that domestic violence charges seem to have gone up. Also, I have noticed a lot of criminal sexual conduct cases recently. With that one in particular, I know that the evidence in some of these cases is fairly weak. But, for whatever reason, the state is taking more chances charging these people and hoping they plea out. That is frightening for the defendant and his entire family.
It is a very sad flipside to the coin of lower crime overall. Be careful out there.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
The high cost of Being Cheap
In West Michigan, many people pride themselves on their frugality. And being careful with one's money is often a good idea. Like all things, however, it can backfire. I have run into a number of people over the years that could have saved a small fortune if they had been willing to pay a professional upfront to help make sure potential problems were highlighted and dealt with before they became big problems.
Below are some brief examples of the high cost of being cheap. I am not using actual names and will change the facts slightly to protect people's privacy.
A couple cashes in their life savings to make a large down payment of a fixer upper home that they are buying on land contract. They decide that paying an attorney a few hundred dollars upfront to advise them on the deal is too much cost and bother. Two years later, they get behind in their payments and wind up losing the house. Now, their entire savings and anything they have put into the house are gone forever. They lost over $30,000 all because they believed that the money they paid on the contract was building equity for them. It was not. And they decided to forego the cost of the advice that would helped them understand this risk.
A guy gets pulled over for a OWI. As he has never had one before, he is charged as a first time offender. Because the only evidence was his breathalyzer result, the entire case against him is based on those. He blew a .11 (the legal limit is .08). Because the officer did not observe him continuously for the required 15 minutes before administering the test, the guy could have had the results barred from being admitted from trial, meaning he likely would have had his case dismissed. Because he didn't want to pay $1200 for a good lawyer, he wound up pleading guilty. A couple of years later, he gets pulled over again. Now, he is a second time offender with a minimum mandatory jail sentence. The fines and other penalties are also increased. And if he gets a third OWI arrest, that charge is an automatic felony, and he is looking at prison time. If he had paid to keep his record clean the first time, he wouldn't be going to jail.
The cost of serious representation for a serious felony is very expensive. Frankly, it is beyond the means of many criminal defendants. However, some who can come up with the money often just decide to let it ride with a court appointed attorney or a low cost attorney. The risk here is that the difference between the best representation and less than that can be years or decades in prison. There is no attorney that can guarantee a particular result, but if you are paying an attorney for a lot of his time, logically he is going to spend that time learning more about the nuisances of your cases. And those little details can be the difference between winning and losing; or at least a meaningful plea offer or one that doesn't offer much assistance.
I know this blog may seem self-serving to some, but when life throws you major problems, you need to look at the long term cost. It is a big picture thing. A $5,000 retainer to a good lawyer is only $42 a month (rounded up) if he can save your 10 years in prison. Freedom is worth the price.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
Below are some brief examples of the high cost of being cheap. I am not using actual names and will change the facts slightly to protect people's privacy.
A couple cashes in their life savings to make a large down payment of a fixer upper home that they are buying on land contract. They decide that paying an attorney a few hundred dollars upfront to advise them on the deal is too much cost and bother. Two years later, they get behind in their payments and wind up losing the house. Now, their entire savings and anything they have put into the house are gone forever. They lost over $30,000 all because they believed that the money they paid on the contract was building equity for them. It was not. And they decided to forego the cost of the advice that would helped them understand this risk.
A guy gets pulled over for a OWI. As he has never had one before, he is charged as a first time offender. Because the only evidence was his breathalyzer result, the entire case against him is based on those. He blew a .11 (the legal limit is .08). Because the officer did not observe him continuously for the required 15 minutes before administering the test, the guy could have had the results barred from being admitted from trial, meaning he likely would have had his case dismissed. Because he didn't want to pay $1200 for a good lawyer, he wound up pleading guilty. A couple of years later, he gets pulled over again. Now, he is a second time offender with a minimum mandatory jail sentence. The fines and other penalties are also increased. And if he gets a third OWI arrest, that charge is an automatic felony, and he is looking at prison time. If he had paid to keep his record clean the first time, he wouldn't be going to jail.
The cost of serious representation for a serious felony is very expensive. Frankly, it is beyond the means of many criminal defendants. However, some who can come up with the money often just decide to let it ride with a court appointed attorney or a low cost attorney. The risk here is that the difference between the best representation and less than that can be years or decades in prison. There is no attorney that can guarantee a particular result, but if you are paying an attorney for a lot of his time, logically he is going to spend that time learning more about the nuisances of your cases. And those little details can be the difference between winning and losing; or at least a meaningful plea offer or one that doesn't offer much assistance.
I know this blog may seem self-serving to some, but when life throws you major problems, you need to look at the long term cost. It is a big picture thing. A $5,000 retainer to a good lawyer is only $42 a month (rounded up) if he can save your 10 years in prison. Freedom is worth the price.
Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com
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