Dismissing Felony Charges

The client came to the firm with a very serious criminal matter. He had been charged with five felonies and four misdemeanors. We initially spoke to one of the prosecutors at the Bucks County District Attorney's office to see if we could work out some kind of an agreement.

Even if we could keep the client out of jail, we did not want the client to plead guilty to a felony charge - the client was only 23 years old, and we did not feel it was appropriate for him to be branded as a felon for the rest of his life.

The prosecutor was totally arrogant and unyielding. He stated that the client "deserved" to be labeled as a felon. Then when we tried to negotiate a plea agreement, he told us we had two choices - plead guilty to all nine criminal charges - including the five felony counts - or go to trial. We chose to go to trial and began preparing the case.

On the day of trial, the prosecutor suddenly felt like he was in the mood to make a deal. He offered to dismiss four felony charges, but still wanted the client to plead guilty to one felony charge and four misdemeanors.

When we did not jump at his offer, the prosecutor sweetened his proposal. He agreed to dismiss ALL five felony charges, provided the client would plead guilty to the four misdemeanor charges - and there would be NO jail time at all for the client.

The client was delighted and he accepted this better offer. He walked out of the court house a free man.

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