COURT! Anyone been for serious charges? Got first date comin up, no lawyer

[WOT]

But i DO have the choice to switch from a public defender to a real lawyer after he is appojnted to me right? Hell I dont even know if Im gonna be oferred a free attourney, Id just like to atleast hear what the guy has to say to me and what his opinion is and go from there IF I HAVE THE TIME to do so

 

[WOT]

You are probably going to be indicted on the drug charges, therefore you will be infront of a grand jury instead of a municipality judge for the pellet gun. The MDMA (X) you are being charged with is a Schedule III offense in Canada, pretty serious shit.

I seen the sched # on the paperwork, I'll go grab em from my car and type out the exact charge

 

[DB_DRAG_SPL 10+ year member]

Canada has mandatory minimum's:

A. Offences Involving Firearms and Other Weapons

"One year (first conviction) and three years (second or subsequent conviction) for using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence, in an attempt, or during flight afterwards (1977)"

If they want to be hardasses and make an example out of him, they can easily say that the marijuana was packaged (separate bags) to be sold, i'm not sure of the canadian laws on how many MDMA pills it takes to be considered intent to deliver, but i'm sure BOTH are indictable charges if they want to take it to that level.

Like everyone has said, don't go at it alone, get a lawyer even for the pre-trial. You can always get a public defender to represent you and file for your motion of discovery, which is where the prosecution will give you all the evidence they have on you. Then take that to a "Real" lawyer and go from there.

If you're a first time offender, any good lawyer can plead it down.

 

[WOT]

Carry concealed weapon C.C. 89

Possession of controlled substance sched lll C.D.S.A. 4 (6)

Possession of marijuana (under) C.D.S.A. 4(5)

 

[DB_DRAG_SPL 10+ year member]

But i DO have the choice to switch from a public defender to a real lawyer after he is appojnted to me right? Hell I dont even know if Im gonna be oferred a free attourney, Id just like to atleast hear what the guy has to say to me and what his opinion is and go from there IF I HAVE THE TIME to do so

Yes you have the right at any time to switch counsel.

Here's the Canadian MDMA Schedule:

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_law.shtml

 

[babaganoush123 10+ year member]

i went for attempted murder. i had a good lawyer.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

was it court costs perhaps?

Nope, those have a seperate total from what he told me

 

[slick rick 10+ year member]

Nope, those have a seperate total from what he told me

Just found out it's $750 for a felony, $300 for a misdemeanor down here. Word on the street is they "hardly" collect on it, but this is more of a reason to pay for an attorney...who might be able to get court costs waived.

 

[WOT]

court fees dont mater to me as i dont think we have them in canada, but i doubt a lawyer could get them waived, sounds pretty standard

Just concerned on what was just brought up on the schedule lll for the E charge

 

[DB_DRAG_SPL 10+ year member]

Just concerned on what was just brought up on the schedule lll for the E charge

I'd be more concerned about getting on the phone and calling to find you an attorney.....like yesterday.

 

[WOT]

I have 2 attorneys waiting to here back form me AFTER tomorrow, one advertized lower prices and one seemed high dollar, Im just going to have to wait and see what info I can get from tomorrow I suppose.

Anyone know how they are going to continue to schedule my dates though? Will the gun and drug charges stay seperate meaning different dates and such, that could be costly, but I dont think it would be adviseable to ask to have them combined......

Or have an attorney for the drugs, and a public defender for the weapons charge, which Im hoping will just go away, or bring a nominal fine or some community serice or something very light. Im at work so I cant spend all day calling lawyers

 

[reid1boys 10+ year member]

You are probably going to be indicted on the drug charges, therefore you will be infront of a grand jury instead of a municipality judge for the pellet gun. The MDMA (X) you are being charged with is a Schedule III offense in Canada, pretty serious shit.

he will not go before a grand jury. A grand jury doesnt even see a defendant. A Grand Jury sits and looks at evidence and determines whether or not someone should be charged with a crime. If you are indicted, that means you have been charged and the case has started its way through the system. A grand Jury determines if their is enough evidence for the case to go forward. Some states dont use grand juries if I remember correctly. i certainly dont know what Canada uses.

he is going to a preliminary which is where a judge will read the charges, find out if he needs an attorney, and schedule the next court date. After he has an attorney and returns for the next court date, he will plead guilty or not guilty. His attorney may have already worked out a deal at that time. If they did work out a deal, the DA would submit the deal to a judge and the judge would ask if all parties agree.

His case is pretty simple and straight forward. In the US, if you can not afford an attorney, one i given to you at minimal or no cot. In his case, an appointed attorney would be fine IMO.

 

[BIGsherm7272]

I thought they didn't really care about bud up in Canada

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

Canada has mandatory minimum's:
A. Offences Involving Firearms and Other Weapons

"One year (first conviction) and three years (second or subsequent conviction) for using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence, in an attempt, or during flight afterwards (1977)"

If they want to be hardasses and make an example out of him, they can easily say that the marijuana was packaged (separate bags) to be sold, i'm not sure of the canadian laws on how many MDMA pills it takes to be considered intent to deliver, but i'm sure BOTH are indictable charges if they want to take it to that level.

Like everyone has said, don't go at it alone, get a lawyer even for the pre-trial. You can always get a public defender to represent you and file for your motion of discovery, which is where the prosecution will give you all the evidence they have on you. Then take that to a "Real" lawyer and go from there.

If you're a first time offender, any good lawyer can plead it down.

from my many moronic experiences, the public defender is actually better at getting plea deals from the D.A. a person would never even want to consider using a public defender to fight a case or to even carry it all the way to sentencing. i went all the way to sentencing when the state came at me with 12 years department of corrections. the judge told the da he was crazy and gave me 6. that was with a fairly expensive attorney. i later escaped, got caught and got charged with escape, which is an automatic 1 to 5 ran consecutive with your previous sentence. used a public defender knowing i'd get screwed in a court room and he got me a pretty good deal of 1.5 years. i could name a couple other decent deals i got from the state appointed attorney, but that's the most significant.

 

[WOT]

Does anyone know if a lawyer will be appointed to you for free or little charge in canada? I have zero problems taking a deal, aslong as it keeps me out of jail im happy, and obviously I dont want 500 hours community service or 50 classes, but i'll take what I can get, trying to make it on my own, and its hard.

thanks guys, didnt think id get near this much help