stranger gives defendant $983 in court so he does't become a felon

[Liberal_in_LA]

Last edited Fri Dec 26, 2014, 03:34 AM - Edit history (1)

Though the two were strangers to each other, civil attorney Colin Murphy overheard a defense attorney and prosecutor talking about a different case that was 15 minutes before his last week, the Oregonian reported.

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Murphy typically covers business disputes, but he still understood that the defendant was about to miss a plea deal that would allow him to be sentenced with a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

Defendant Castor Majuro Conley bought a Nissan pickup truck from a thief, then sold it to someone else who sold it to a scrap yard, police reports allege. Conley, married with a 17-month-old child, couldn't come up with the $983 required to pay restitution to the car's owner. So, Murphy decided to step in, as the Oregon State Bar prohibits an attorney from giving or loaning money to a client.

While Murphy wanted to make sure that giving Conley $983 would be permitted, Taylor told the judge, "I think we’ve worked it out."

"He handed a personal check to me that day," Conley's attorney Taylor said of Murphy. "I had never seen or heard of him."

As for Conley, he was "stunned and in disbelief," Taylor said.

Conley has one misdemeanor conviction on his record, a fourth-degree assault in 2011, the Oregonian reported. A more serious felony charge could have cost Conley his job and future employment prospects, plus rental housing.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=27830741