MY HUSBAND WAS GIVEN 25 TO LIFE FOR A FIRST TIME FAILURE TO REGISTER. HIS PRIORS ARE OVER 26 YEARS OLD. I AM NOW A SINGLE MOTHER OF 5 NOW AND DOING THE BEST THAT I CAN, BUT MY BILLS WILL NOT ALLOW FOR ME TO RETAIN A LAWYER FOR US. DENO TOOK A PLEA BARGIN THAT READ LIKE THIS: 16 MONTHS, 2 YRS. 3 YRS, OR 25 TO LIFE AT THE JUDGES DESCRETION. ON THE DAY OF THE SENTENCING OUR LAWYER NEVER SHOWED UP, THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME EITHER, SO THEY HAD TO BUT BACK THE SENTENCEING DAY A WEEK WHICH GAVE THE DA TIME TO BRING IN THE PRESS AND ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LISTEN. MY HUSBAND IS NOT AN ANGEL BY ANY STRECH OF THE MIND BUT HE PAID HIS DEBT TO SOCIETY THE FIRST TIME HE WENT TO JAIL, AND THIS 25 TO LIFE WAS EXCEDENLY CRUAL, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL ME OR EMIAL MINE AT email and phone # removed per pto policy THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS EVERYONE, CINDY JONES

CYNTHIA:

I KNOW A COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY IS NOT THE BEST IN THE WORLD, BUT IN THIS INSTANCE YOU NEED ONE. PLEASE GO TO TALK WITH A DA OR JUDGE TO SEE IF YOU CAN GET ONE APPOINTED FOR YOUR HUSBAND.

ONCE THEY APPOINT ONE, SIT DOWN WITH HIM YOURSELF AND TELL HIM YOUR COMPLETE STORY. TELL HIM WHAT KIND OF PERSON YOUR HUSBAND HAS BECOME AND THAT THIS SENTENCE IS VERY UNFAIR. TELL HIM THE TRUTH, BUT BEG HIM TO PLEASE HELP YOU.

MY PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU. I WISH THERE WERE SOMETHING I COULD DO FROM HERE. MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU CYNTHIA.

DONNA

THANK YOU DONNA FOR YOUR REPLY, ITS NICE TO KNOW THAT SOMEONE CARES. I WISH I COULD GET A LAWYER EVEN A COURT APPOINTED ONE BUT HIS CASE WAS ALREADY SENTENCED AND HE HAS ALREADY DONE 4 YEARS ON THIS INCLUDING AN APPEAL THROUGH THE APPELATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE IN SAN DEIGO, AND THEY SAID BECAUSE OF HIS PRIORS THAT REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT HE REALLY DID A MINOR OR AS THE JUDGE CALLED IT "A CRIME OF OMISSION" THAT THEY COULDNT WASTE THE TIME AND ENERGY OF THE TAX PAYERS ON SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD NEVER WIN. THEY SAID THAT IT WOULD BOIL DOWN TO PROVING HIS LAWYER WAS INCOMPETENT AND LAWYERS SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM DOING THAT, I GUESS. IF YOU HAVE ANYMORE IDEAS PLEASE SEND THEM TO ME, I APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL IDEAS, I'M FRESH OUT, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME CINDY JONES

would it be hard to get an appeal, based on incompetence of your attorney?

YES CINDY, SORAYA IS RIGHT.... I HAD FORGOTTEN. FILE A HABEUS CORPUS.... GET ALL THE FACTS TOGETHER ABOUT THE ATTORNEY WHO DID THE CASE. INSURE YOU HAVE DOCUMENTATION ABOUT THE ERRORS HE MADE...... CALL THE BAR ASSOCIATION IN YOUR STATE, FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE ATTORNEY.... ASK THEM HOW TO GO ABOUT GETTING A ATTORNEY WHO WOULD HELP YOU FOR A MINIMUL FEE OR BE COURT APPOINTED...

YOU MUST HAVE YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW..... GOOD LUCK

DONNA

donna, I've asked, because darrell is in the same situation, about his attorney and appeal counsel being incompetent. and i wonder what we can do to make his case stronger...

SORAYA:

YOU MUST HAVE PROOF. GET HIS TRIAL TRANSCRIPT. GO THROUGH IT.. FIND ERRORS.... GET OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN TRIED BY THIS SAME ATTORNEY TO MAKE STATEMENTS ABOUT THE WAY HE HANDLED THEIR CASES.

WE ARE DOING A HABEUS CORPUS NOW IN FACT.... BUTCH'S ATTORNEY WAS ALCOHOLIC BEGINNING IN 1989... PUBLICLY ADMITTED. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET HIM DISBARRED. IT CAN BE PRETTY HARD TO DO, BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE MORE THAN ONE OCCASION THAT AN ATTORNEY MESSES UP THIS BAD IN ORDER TO PROVE HIM INCOMPENTANT. BUT, IT CAN BE DONE IF YOU HAVE THE PROOF TO DO IT... IT JUST TAKES A LOT OF DIGGING AND WORK...

LOVE YA
DONNA

thank you so much! I will ask for his trial transripts. though I'm not sure if he got him. that's also one of his points of his appeal....but I'll ask. thank you so much for the advise

love ya
soraya

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Definately fight for an appeal because of that lawyer. Two can play at the press game by the way. Try it, you might find you have a lot of people that agree with you.

This is an old thread If you can let me know how you are doing that be great I had a similar experence the court date keep getting put off when it finilly went to court there was no way for a fair hearing I was told the best is to just let them do there time he has 4 years for a tecnical violation first one email removed per pto policy or if any one else have any similar experiences maybe we have a chance of other seeing the enjustice of it all

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

In CA:
Since the subject of this thread was sentenced, there's been a change in the case law that might help. 25 to life for failure to register as a sex offender has been held to be constitiionally "cruel" in limited circumstances. The published CA Supreme Court case involved a defendant who registered in the new jurisdiction; but failed to "unregister" in the former county of residence.

Also, the law on failure to register has changed. The DA now has to prove that the failure was "willfull". In other words, it has to be proven that the registrant was provided enough information so they knew what to do; and that they were able to understand the information.