of all the replies containing poor advice in this thread, the one i am most disappointed in is yours, marine. i guess over the years i have come to respect your intellect and judgment, and i suppose i hold you to a higher standard than most.
to address the issue, never go to court on any criminal charge without an attorney. this is not just to help decide whether to defend on the issue of guilt or innocence, but even more so to help to plan for a guilty plea, if that is the appropriate thing to do. marine and others somehow hold the deluded belief that all criminal defense lawyers do is sit around and think of twisted and unethical things to do to get their clients off. to the contrary, peading an obviously guilt client not guilty and putting on a contrived defense is sometimes the worst possible thing a lawyer can do to represent his client. it only tends to aggravate a judge when you make him sit through such nonsense, and many times results in your client being sentenced more harshly than he would have been if he had come into could in a forthright manner.
i tell my clients all the time, it's not as important what you did, it's important what you're willing to do about it. if your client is obviously guity and the state can prove it with the evidence at their disposal, then sound judgment calls for a different preparation for court. most often, i will tell my clients to go get an alcohol abuse assesment and follow treatment recommendations, start attending aa meetings, volunteer for community service work, admit themselves for inpatient treatment if appropriate, and other things of a similiar ilk. the idea is to ultimately go into court and not just give lip service to guilt and remorse, but to show a judge that you are actually motivated to take action on your own to address your problem and attone for your acts. those are the kind of things that persuade judges not to impose the harshest sanctions and instead be lenient on an offender.
bottom line, what you should do prior to court varies from locality to locality. whatever you do, get a lawyer.
to address the issue, never go to court on any criminal charge without an attorney. this is not just to help decide whether to defend on the issue of guilt or innocence, but even more so to help to plan for a guilty plea, if that is the appropriate thing to do. marine and others somehow hold the deluded belief that all criminal defense lawyers do is sit around and think of twisted and unethical things to do to get their clients off. to the contrary, peading an obviously guilt client not guilty and putting on a contrived defense is sometimes the worst possible thing a lawyer can do to represent his client. it only tends to aggravate a judge when you make him sit through such nonsense, and many times results in your client being sentenced more harshly than he would have been if he had come into could in a forthright manner.
i tell my clients all the time, it's not as important what you did, it's important what you're willing to do about it. if your client is obviously guity and the state can prove it with the evidence at their disposal, then sound judgment calls for a different preparation for court. most often, i will tell my clients to go get an alcohol abuse assesment and follow treatment recommendations, start attending aa meetings, volunteer for community service work, admit themselves for inpatient treatment if appropriate, and other things of a similiar ilk. the idea is to ultimately go into court and not just give lip service to guilt and remorse, but to show a judge that you are actually motivated to take action on your own to address your problem and attone for your acts. those are the kind of things that persuade judges not to impose the harshest sanctions and instead be lenient on an offender.
bottom line, what you should do prior to court varies from locality to locality. whatever you do, get a lawyer.
