A recent drug case out of Chicago highlights the need for a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who has knowledge of the criminal justice system as well as the complex area of appeals.
Appeals in Los Angeles are critical because sometimes they can mean the difference between a defendant's freedom or a long prison sentence. Without properly preserving issues for appeal, even before a defendant has been convicted, the person will be left without options if a jury does find him or her guilty. This applies not only to the trial, but also pre-trial motions and hearings where judges make decisions about witnesses and evidence admitted or denied.
In United States v. Combs, a Chicago man appealed his judge's decision to deny a motion to suppress evidence based on his attorney's negligence.
The case goes back to 2008, when a Drug Enforcement Administration task force investigated the man for allegedly taking large amounts of heroin, cocaine and marijuana from Chicago to Madison and St. Louis.
In 2009, an informant, at the direction of the DEA, called the man to buy cocaine. Surveillance from agents show the man in the parking lot of a St. Louis casino accepting a black bag from a man he met there. An hour later, the informant and the defendant met outside his mother's house in St. Louis and surveillance video show him and the informant meeting.
The informant told agents that when he and the drug dealer would meet it would either be at his house in Madison, Illinois, or at his mother's house in St. Louis. During the recorded meeting outside his mother's house, the man told the informant he had just gotten two kilograms of cocaine in St. Louis. Based on the video surveillance and the informant's information, agents obtained a search warrant and found 650 grams of marijuana, a handgun and ammunition inside his house. He was indicted on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.
The issue in the case comes down to the video footage shot by agents. A week before the trial was scheduled to start, the man's public defender asked for a continuance, saying that he had had difficulty viewing the video footage after receiving several DVDs from the prosecution.
After finding versions of the DVD that worked, the attorney said the defendant wanted to file a motion to suppress, alleging there were discrepancies between the video footage and search-warrant affidavit. But the judge denied the motion because the deadline for filing a motion to suppress had long expired. The attorney waited two and a half months to file the motion. He didn't follow proper procedures in order to have the motion heard by the court.
The man ended up entering a guilty plea and was sentenced to 33 months in prison, the high end of the guidelines for his charge. He did so with an unconditional plea and without his attorney reserving issues for appeal. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal agreed with the trial judge, saying that there was no reason to overlook the plea and the fact that it was made without conditions that would allow him to preserve the right to preserve issues later on.
This is a sad situation because it's apparent from the court's writings that this defendant's attorney did a poor job. First off, he waited until just before trial to try to file a lengthy motion that would take a large chunk of time to be heard. Then once he was granted an extension, he didn't follow the procedures to have the motion heard, instead waiting more than two months.
As a result, the defendant has no avenues for appeal and must serve 33 months in prison for this crime that he may have been found not guilty of if his attorney had acted properly. Criminal law is complex, especially when dealing with state and federal charges in two different systems. But that's why hiring an experienced lawyer who has knowledge of not only the criminal system, but also the importance of appeals is critical.
Without leaving the defendant with issues to appeal if they are convicted, they have no avenue to challenge the wrongs that happened before or at trial.
If you need to speak with a Los Angeles criminal defense or appeals attorney, contact the Law Offices of Stephen G. Rodriguez and Associates at 213-223-2173 for a free consultation.
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