Are Grand Jury Indictments Are Rubber Stamps?

Grand jury proceedings are a mystical thing. They are secret. The grand jurors go in, the prosecutor goes in, witnesses go in, then the prosecutor comes out with an indictment and the beginning of his charges against a person, people, or corporation.

DC Juror, claiming the group as breezing through cases too quickly, was kicked off for being a “disturbance” legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/10/in…

— mark solomon (@solomonesq) October 14, 2012

Hence the phrase, “a prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich.”

The standard for a grand jury to indict a person is “whether probable cause exists to support the charges,” or whether enough evidence exists to support the charges. This is a very low standard of evidence.

Grand jury indictments are supposed to be the check on an individual’s discretion on when to charge a crime. They were intended to take the place of one or two people controlling the initial steps of the criminal justice process.

In Colorado, most indictments never happen, and felonies are charged by police and prosecutors, and a judge determines whether probable cause exists after hearing evidence in a preliminary hearing. This preliminary hearing is an evidentiary hearing where the government must call witnesses to testify to the evidence that can support probable cause for the charges.

In the federal criminal justice system, prosecutors must still indict a defendant to charge them. The U.S. government prosecutors try not to waste time and resources by waiting to file charges until they have amassed so much evidence against a person that the indictment is tantamount to a trial where they try to present near insurmountable evidence against a person to ensure the case does not go to trial – their effort to further judicial economy.

However, what happens when a grand juror does not follow along with what the government wants? In Arizona last year, a “runaway grand jury” turned its sites on the prosecutor’s office. Another runaway grand jury in Texas indicted a Supreme Court justice.

The key towards keeping a grand jury process legitimate is to present facts and ask for the grand jury to return a “true bill” on the indictment without preaching, without arguing for a case. That way, once presented in an argument-neutral way, the later courts and juries to hear indicted cases get their cases pre-screened, the true function of a grand jury.

Statue of limitations

Statue of limitations are the time required to bring charges or “commence the prosecution.”  The criminal prosecutor must bring charges within that time limit. If they try, any competent attorney should be able to help get the case dismissed. On the other hand, for the government to satisfy this requirement, the government must “commence a prosecution” within the time limit. Commencing the prosecution is usually as simple as law enforcement or the prosecutors getting the court to issue a warrant.

Statue of limitations in Kentucky

MISDEMEANORS. In Kentucky, for misdemeanors, the warrant must be issued within one calendar year of the alleged offense. If the warrant was issued one year of the offense 17 years ago, that it would be a valid warrant, and the statue limitations would not apply. The governing statute is “§ 500.050. Time limitations.”

FELONIES: In Kentucky, no statute of limitations exists for felonies, so a new charge today from twenty years ago is valid under the Statue of limitations for criminal charges. However, in such a case, other procedural defenses might be available, such as a Due Process violation, but speak to a lawyer to help you with any felony charge.

Statue of limitations in Colorado

In Colorado, a statute of limitation exist for every crime, based on the classification of the offense. This is governed by CRS 16-5-401. To summarize this statute: one year for traffic offenses, 18 months for misdemeanors, three years for most felonies, five years for “Vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of a person,” and no limit on the most serious of felonies.

Practical Defenses when Statutes of limitations are at play

When the offense happened so long ago, many cases fall apart because of the lack of memory on the part of the witnesses. As such, you should probably talk to an attorney to go over the discovery in your case. And do an investigation to see if the witnesses are still around and still remember anything.

A statute of limitations on criminal charges is meant to prevent old, stale cases from haunting a defendant. Memory and age of the case always effects the outcome. Generally speaking, the worse the memories of the witnesses, the better the outcome.

Get a Lower Bond: How Bond Works

Bond has two purposes: (1) ensures a defendant’s return to court and (2) ensures the person will not re-offend while awaiting trial. A lower bond shows a low risk of both of these factors. To get a lower bond, especially at a bond hearing, you will need a lawyer to present evidence to the judge which will allow him/her to assess a defendant as a low risk.

Mr. Solomon has worked many, many bond issues at both the trial and appeal level.

How much is my bond? Why is my bond so high?

A judge weighs many things when determining bond, such as the nature of the offense charges, the person’s criminal history, ties to the community, etc. A higher bond shows a higher risk of failing to appear at future court dates or reoffending (danger to the community). A lower bond shows a lower risk.

How do I get a lower bond?

If a judge gives a person a lower bond, he must have a good reason. To get your bond lowered, you need to convince the judge that you are likely to show up at all your court appearances, that not likely to flee, and that you are not a risk of re-offending while on bond. If your new offense happened while on probation or parole, a judge will probably not be receptive to hear arguments that you are not likely to re-offend, because the case before him/her was while you were under court orders not to commit new offenses already. Talk to a lawyer to see how to find good things in your life which will allow a judge to give a lower bond, to release you with confidence that he will not be in the news for allowing a dangerous person to run free among law-abiding people.

To get a lower bond, get a lawyer! You can have a bond hearing to ask the court for a lower bond.

What is a PR bond?

A personal recognizance  bond (PR Bond) is a lower bond. This is where the defendant signs his name promising to appear in court.

What is an unsecured bond?

An unsecured bond is a lower bond. This is where a judge assess a bond, but does not require the defendant to pay it to be released. However, if the defendant fails to appear to future court dates or commits new offenses, his next bond will not be a lower bond, it will be a higher bond or no bond.

How does bond work? How do bondsmen work?

After the judge sets a bond, someone has to pay the bond to the court before the defendant can be released. In Colorado, a person can contract with a bondsmen who pays the bond for a fee. The bondsman will typically expect to be paid approximately 10% of the bond, and will keep this as his fee. He will also require a co-signor who guarantees the rest of the bond if the defendant fails to appear to court and the court orders that the bond posted is forfeited. The bondsman’s business is ensuring that he is not the party who loses if the defendant flees. As such, if a defendant flees, the bondsman has two options: (1) send a bounty hunter to find the fleeing defendant and return them to the custody of the court to avoid a bond  forfeiture, or (2) collect the forfeited bond from the co-signor by attaching their collateral (car, house, watch, etc.).

What is a surety?

A surety is where one person pays a bond for the defendant. Why would a judge disallow surety? If the judge deems the person as a high risk to fail to return to court, or a danger to the community, the judge might also believe that the defendant would not care if the surety’s money is forfeited. The judge might believe that the defendant values his/her freedom over the surety’s money.

What About When the Judge Says “No bond”

If the judge says “no bond” then no amount of money or assurances makes the judge feel one or both of those bond objectives is possible, or that the defendant is too risky for either or both to be given a bond.  In short, the defendant is stuck until the judge allows bond. An attorney can help with this through negotiating with the government and reaching an agreement.

What about parole holds?

When a person is on parole and probable cause exists for a revocation, the parole officer (PO) can either arrest the person or issue them a summons to appear at a revocation hearing. Most of the times, the PO does not issue summons, but, rather, arrests them and holds them for a parole revocation hearing.

So, while the parole officer/parole board has the discretion to release a person accused of a parole violation on a summons (like a PR bond), they usually do not do this.

Remember that bond has two purposes: (1) make sure the person comes back to court and (2) does not reoffend while waiting to resolve the case.

If the defendant is facing a new charge, then a conviction for a new offense is almost always grounds to revoke a parole. If that’s the case, the defendant is alleged to have committed a new offense while on supervised release. Generally, this is not an easy case to try to get someone released when evidence exists of their reoffending while on supervised release: parole.

To have any hope of a defendant’s release in this situation, get a lawyer and talk to them about the specifics of the situation.

Don’t Get Prosecuted for using Self-Defense: Protecting Yourself After Its Over

Self defense is a scary thing. Thankfully, using physical force against another human being is something most people will never know. Some people will either put themselves in the position of having to use physical force against another person, or be thrust into the position of defending themselves against their choice. Still another group of people will, either through hesitation or conscious choice, do nothing and become victims. All of these groups can face an uphill battle if they handle the aftermath of their choices poorly.

First, we will focus on those who use force in self-defense, force against another person to protect themselves. These people can easily be seen as the perpetrators of a crime. Even if their acts are lawful. Any statements made to police in the heat of the immediate aftermath is likely to be a problem for you later. Small inconsistencies, incorrect memories, emotion, and unnecessary information cloud your statement to police and make defending you more difficult later. A better idea is this: don’t make a statement to police until you consult with a self-defense lawyer. If you can, get a card from a good self-defense lawyer and keep it handy to show the police. Police officers routinely wait to make statements of their own use of force until they have calmed down and thought about what happened. You do the same thing.

When calling the police or 911, they will be recording the call. Tell them that you need them respond because “there has been a shooting and it’s all over” or “someone tried to break into my house” – only report the bare facts as to why the police need to respond. Do not answer any questions as to what you did; not to the 911 operator over the phone before you’ve spoken to your lawyer. To repeat that: Don’t tell the 911 operator anything you did, only what the situation is about.

Next, do not alter the scene at all. Do not move things, clean things, remove things, etc. Anything you do to alter the scene of events can be viewed as tampering with evidence. If you decline to make a statement, police might want to look closer at the scene to see if you are being deceptive in any way. Don’t be deceptive in any way! Just remain silent.

Lastly, have a relationship with a lawyer who can respond to the scene and deal with the situation for you. Have you ever made a statement to the press? Handled police interrogators? Had crime scene investigators invading your home? Most people have not experienced any of these things.

A good criminal defense attorney specializing in self-defense will want to come out at 3am to manage your situation from the beginning. Call 911 to get the police on their way, then your attorney to get him/her there, too.