Mike Flynn, the plea deal, and the judge

[no_hypocrisy]

You never can tell with judges. True wildcards.

In Traffic Court, my 17 yo client was charged with going 85 in a 55 zone during the night one week after she got her license. Super Speeding Ticket and Careless Driving.

I met with the Prosecutor, got the cop on board, and we first merged the tickets and then amended down to Unsafe Driving (zero points).

Went in front of the judge who turned out to be Judge Roy Bean. He was pissed at my client for driving so dangerously esp. so close to procuring her license and at night on a major highway. He refused our plea deal. If we wanted justice, we could have a trial.

Now, there was no way to have a trial and leave the courthouse victoriously. Her speed was caught on a laser radar and they're almost impossible to challenge.

We ended up pleading guilty to both counts. Her father was more pissed at me than at her. He thought that I was going to walk away with a beautiful plea deal. (Then again, so did I.)

So I learned the hard way, don't count your chickens . . . . . Flynn's lawyers should have prepared him for that potentiality.

[3Hotdogs]

1. In N.J., it is rare not to get a plea deal.

The whole thing is to get the mark to fork over $$ without wasting too much of the court's time.


One of the few chances you get is to ask the cop for the serial number of the device used to clock speed so as to challenge calibration. Cop may refuse to give this. "You can get it on discovery."

I cell phone recorded the cop's refusal to give me the serial number. In written argument, I stated it was now impossible to verify the accuracy of the instrument since it is now impossible to verify that the units were not switched.

I actually one that one.

[Jersey Devil]

4. (edited) I am a NJ lawyer and that is partially true

I've gotten plea deals on traffic cases for clients hundreds of times. There are certain offenses you cannot bargain. For instance, you can't plea bargain a DWI, but you certainly can for speeding, reckless driving, etc.

[Farmer-Rick]

6. You should use the Wal Mart, Mrs Walton DWI defense

During one of her many drunk driving accidents, she murdered a 50 yr old woman Oleta Hardin in Fayetteville, Arkansas and didn't even pay a fine. She must have really good lawyers.

Poor Mrs. HARDIN, may she rest in peace, she didn't know she wasn't allowed to walk on the same street the Waltons used.

[catbyte]

2. The dad was probably just pissed off in general--now he's going to have to chauffeur her around

until she's 21. I'm guessing she got her license yanked if your state is anything like Michigan.

Thanks for sharing that story. It just goes to show you that there's really no plea deal unless the judge signs off on it. Fascinating.

[Cary]

3. You don't understand

When we win cases we only win because the case was a slam dunk winner. It is never because of our skill and when we lose it is of course because we are incompetent.

So it goes.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. What Cary said and the kid kept her license.

Whether Dad let her drive his car again was uncertain.

Dad was justifiably pissed because of the car insurance going way way up. In NJ especially they hammer anyone under 21 who gets traffic convictions.

[Jersey Devil]

5. If I were a judge I would do the same thing

85 in a 55 is extremely dangerous speeding and I doubt many judges would accept a plea to such a charge that did not include any points. Maybe a judge would accept a lesser speed as a plea, say 75 in a 55 to cut down the number of points, but that's about it.

[TomSlick]

7. The non-lawyers won't know who William Prosser was but here goes:

“Your lawyer in practice spends a considerable part of his life in doing distasteful things for disagreeable people who must be satisfied, against an impossible time limit and with hourly interruptions, from other disagreeable people who want to derail the train; and for his blood, sweat, and tears, he receives in the end a few unkind words to the effect that it might have been done better, and a protest at the size of the fee.”
William L. Prosser

[Kaleva]

8. One lawyer told me that the guilty always blame the lawyer when they get hammered.