We never judge our clients and welcome their life stories. This is where, most often, the life story is so important.
There are times when our clients have broken the law and the State can prove it. However, the recommended punishment from the State starting out often far exceeds the punishment that a person should receive. The ultimate goal, if possible, is to try to prevent our client from having a criminal record at all.
The benefit we have that the State lacks is the full life story of our clients. Many of our clients have had difficult childhoods. Some suffer from addiction. Some suffer from mental health issues. There are many things that can be used, even if a person is legally guilty, to still help the client get what he wants or needs as a desired outcome.
Some clients prefer to serve some small amount of jail time because they do not want to pay probation fees for years, do not have the time to perform community service and report to a probation officer as well as submit to random drug tests.
Other clients prefer the probation/community supervision option as they just do not want to spend any time in jail.
Whatever the desired outcome, we will be with you every step of the way, explaining all of the differences between the vast legal terms out there such as: Deferred disposition versus deferred prosecution versus deferred adjudication, versus pretrial diversion, versus drug court versus DWI court, versus regular probation with in-patient or outpatient treatment versus SHOCK probation.
Navigating these options can be difficult for even some lawyers and judges, but we are there to provide you with piece of mind so you will know you are making the most informed decision if one needs to be made