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The Value of An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
Rap Sheet - Fact or Fiction
Posted by: Michael Holmes
June 21, 2010
If you have ever watched a TV legal drama, read any number of bestselling legal thrillers, or if you?ve had the misfortune of accumulating multiple criminal convictions, the term Rap Sheet will be familiar. For the uninitiated, the Rap Sheet is actually a Record of Arrest and Prosecution. Essentially, it contains the culmination of information pertaining to an individual?s criminal history.
In the Orange County Criminal Court System, it is a term I have heard on countless occasions. The mere invocation of the dreaded Rap Sheet can immediately arm the prosecuting attorney with an unwarranted edge. Imagine a jury making mental leaps in determining an accused individual?s moral turpitude. After all, the State of California has said that the individual has a rap sheet that contains (blank) so it must be fact. Right?
Fact or Fiction?
People are fallible, no matter what profession or level of education you?re attached to. I was recently reminded of this in an unnamed courthouse in the Southern California region.
My Client had previously been assigned a Public Defender. He was realistically facing 25-to-life due to having the dreaded 3 Strikes on his Rap Sheet.
He was not pleased with how the case was progressing so he elected to hire The Law Offices of Michael Holmes. When taking over the case, I asked to review all the documentation, most importantly, his Rap Sheet. As it turns out, the court had made a mistake and my Client did not have a 3rd strike and we were able to recommend a dramatically reduced plea for our client, which the State accepted.
Mistakes are made and an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney can use those errors to reach better resolutions for their clients. It is our job to question facts and look for inconsistencies.
The offer was dramatically reduced by my firms discovery; information on the Rap Sheet is not always accurate. Mistakes are made and an experienced attorney can use those errors to reach a better resolution for our client.
