Most criminal law clients come to The Fox Firm facing criminal charges and believing they only have two options in front of them – either take a plea deal from the prosecutor, or take their chances at trial, but that’s not always the case. What if the plea deal offered by the prosecutor doesn’t seem fair according to the crime and the person as a whole? What if the facts and the evidence weighing against the client make their chances at a not guilty nearly impossible?
Clients generally fall into one of four categories.
1) people who are 100% innocent and simply found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time and unfairly wrapped up in our justice system for a crime they did not commit,
2) people who probably did something wrong which led them to being arrested or involved, but are innocent of the charge the prosecutor is accusing them of,
3) people who are guilty of the crime they are being charged with, but because of their past, or circumstances unbeknownst to the justice system do not deserve the punishment the prosecutor is seeking, and
4) people who are entirely guilty of the crime alleged and are generally bad people who deserve exactly what the prosecutor is trying to sentence them to.
Group number 1 is easy – take your case to trial. Group number 4 is easy – get the best plea bargain you can and cut your losses. Group number 2 is harder, but workable – work to expose the weaknesses of the State’s case since they overcharged the client and use that strategy to get a favorable outcome for the client. But group number 3 is the hardest – how do you advocate for a client who knows they would lose at trial because they are guilty and the prosecution has the evidence to prove it, but also does not deserve the harsh plea deal the prosecution is offering?
That’s where attorneys at The Fox Firm found themselves exploring more unconventional options to advocate for our clients such as an avenue known as a Slow Plea.
A slow plea looks almost identical to a traditional jury trial where both attorneys conduct jury selection, present evidence, facts, and testimony, and then even give closing arguments to a jury of the client’s peers before sending the jury members to deliberate the client’s fate. The biggest difference is that instead of pleading not guilty, the client stands up at the beginning of the trial and enters a plea of guilty. He or she accepts responsibility from the outset for the crimes they committed, and focus the testimony and evidence on the circumstances surrounding the crime that warrant a lesser sentence.
Attorney Sarah Fox has tried cases as a slow plea in instances where a client committed a heinous crime but was acting out of trauma from being molested as a child for years and never receiving help to address it. Sarah has also tried cases as a slow plea where the client was absolutely guilty of stealing items from a store, but they were baby items for a mother in need. Stealing items for a baby is not a defense or excuse for the crime, but in many cases, those facts can mitigate the sentence for the client. Entering a plea of guilty to a jury can often lend the jury to being open to showing mercy to a client with a verdict or sentence.
Attorneys at The Fox Firm have seen clients fulfilled for the first time in their life by being advocated for and having a chance to tell their story about how they ended up in the criminal justice system in the first place.
So if you find yourself tied up with a criminal charge, and don’t feel confident in your chances at trial, don’t simply accept an unfair plea bargain because your attorney is telling you that those are your only two options. Know that there are other avenues to explore and at The Fox Firm, there are attorneys ready and willing to advocate for your rights and your freedom through those alternative options.