Immigration consequences with criminal conviction

Speaker 1
00;00;00;04 – 00;00;00;29
Is it really that important to have an attorney at your first court appearance? This is Christina Williams with Just Criminal Law.
Speaker 2
00;00;07;26 – 00;00;09;01
And David Mann, legal storytelling specialist. Okay, so when would be the first court appearance?
Speaker 1
00;00;15;10 – 00;00;16;04
Well, usually what happens is, unfortunately, you get arrested and then the court has 72 hours before it has to see you. So you may sit in jail for a few days before you get to go in front of a judge. And that really does give you time to get an attorney hired. And it’s really important to do that, because it can definitely reflect how you’re going to handle the case, when the judge asks you what you want to do.
Speaker 2
00;00;50;24 – 00;00;52;10
Okay. Yes. So this would be, if you don’t do this, you might be tempted to say, “Yes, guilty as charged” just to sort of get out of jail. Is that the danger of what might happen?
Speaker 1
00;01;01;18 – 00;01;02;21
You’d be surprised, but a lot of people do that. They really believe, if I don’t plead guilty and I get a lawyer, I’m just going to have to sit here because the officer is saying I’m guilty. So clearly, he’s saying I’m guilty. I’m saying I want a lawyer. And people are afraid they’re going to have to sit there and wait until they get their lawyer.
Speaker 2
00;01;25;27 – 00;01;27;22
Hmm. Okay. So what happens?

00;01;27;22 – 00;01;30;08
What should happen instead of that?
Speaker 1
00;01;30;08 – 00;01;31;26
Sure. So if you go to court and the judge asks you, “What do you plead?” you should always say “Not guilty.” You never know what was done incorrectly in the investigation. And if law enforcement did something that they shouldn’t have, that’s a reason that your attorney may get a good plea deal, or may even get your case dismissed. And so you need to always, first of all, say “Not guilty,” even if you think you are guilty. And then the judge is going to want to set a bond. And that’s really your opportunity to have your attorney do the heavy lifting. So, if you have hired an attorney and the judge is being asked to set a bond, that is, requiring you to pay money upfront to get out of jail so that you are guaranteed to show up in court, part of what the judge will consider is, “Okay, well, this person’s already invested financially in an attorney, so he doesn’t need to invest in a bond as well.” So, really, hiring the attorney could get you a lower bond. And a lot of times, it does.
Speaker 2
00;02;44;11 – 00;02;46;06
Okay. So if you’re in jail, are being detained in some way, and then you call, potentially, it may still be a day or two before this hearing happens. But when it happens, you’re probably set up for a much better outcome. Is that kind of what you’re saying?
Speaker 1
00;03;00;28 – 00;03;02;03
Well, absolutely. You’re always going to get a better outcome if you go with a highly experienced attorney. And you might as well get the benefit of hiring an attorney right out of the gate, at the very first court appearance. It will really help you get out of jail more smoothly, or get out of jail without having to post any bond, or at least a lower bond. And then your attorney gets to do the talking for you and you don’t inadvertently say something that you shouldn’t.
Speaker 2
00;03;36;23 – 00;03;38;07
Yes. And the attorney is always remembering what some of us can forget, which is you are innocent until proven guilty, right?
Speaker 1
00;03;43;08 – 00;03;45;01
Absolutely.
Speaker 2
00;03;45;01 – 00;03;46;17
Okay. So someone needs you. How do they get ahold of you?
Speaker 1
00;03;47;29 – 00;03;49;18
We’ll include a link in the description where they can call, text, or chat with a member of my team, any time, day or night. Here at Just Criminal Law, we know you only get one shot at justice. SO make yours count.