(05-09-2010, 05:30 PM)renyrat Wrote: We have a hired a great lawyer. And thankfully we have enough money to cover everything. They are pressing charges.
I have never had any dealings with the court system, and all I know is that it is a disfunctional system.
If your son is truly innocent my gutt instinct tells me you should avoid a jury trial if you can. Sometimes the accused has a choice. I am not sure of the rules. Point is with the right Judge (emphasis) your chances of your sons innocence being a determining factor would have a greater chance of carrying the decision.
Show trials (Jury) are a crap shoot and unless you have a personal friendship, or better yet a family relationship with your lawyer your on shaky grounds right off the bat unless you have political influence which you obviously don't, or the State Attorney would have never made the decision to prosicute.
Lets hope the girls family does not have connections. The fact that the State Attorney accepted the case in a "He said; She said" is worrysome to me. States Attorneys won't even prosicute unless they feel they have some advantage going in.
Bottom line is his guilt, or innocence won't make a bit of difference.
Unlike yourself I do have some limited experience with Courts, Judges, and Lawyers. What I have learned from experience is not encouraging.
I am not sure if it may ever come into play, but his age being 17 it occurs to me that should he be found guilty as underaged there might be liability to the parents in a follow up civil case.
Has your son been arrested and booked on a charge where you then had to bail him out of jail?
Do you live in a big city, or a small town?
Has the case been mentioned in the local media?