Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

My son is sentence for 85 to life. count 1- pc187, count 2- pc261 a-2, count 3 pc261 a--2, count 4- pc288a-k. pc12022.3-b enhancement as to counts 2,3. he serves 12 years so far.

there are a few issues i would like to be advice.

there was one key witness who my son never met and associate with but the lawyer at time never object the cross exempt. should i pursue to find her to re interview her.

he was 19 at time of committing the crime, the has no prior record, under unusual and crude punishment should i seek for ground to apply for re sentencing.

he has never notify for his parole hearing under the new laws such as sb261, sb57, how ever, he wrote to his counselor questioning it and the respond is he will have a hearing in 2024 and if he is eligible he will be parole in 2029. how do i verified this and what should i do after.

i would like to help my son to get back to the society if he has a chance, who should i talk to, where should i start.


Asked on 11/28/17, 8:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

If anything, his remedy is an appeal, if he has valid grounds for it at this w-a-a-a-y late date. That means finding substantial procedural errors made by the defense lawyer, or the judge at trial that would have 'likely' resulted in a different verdict or sentencing, it is not a rehash of the evidence, facts, testimony, etc. at the trial -- he doesn't get to redo or reargue the case.

Time for requests for new trial or for re-sentencing are long passed. Even if time hadn't passed, any such requests and motions would have to raise similar issues of substantial error in the trial to have succeeded.

If you want to help him in an appeal, you could pay a good appellate lawyer to review the case and then give you an opinion on likelihood of success, and of the costs and fees necessary to retain him. They are going to be 'significant', appeals are expensive because they require a great deal of 'billable hours'. If you are serious about doing so, feel free to contact me.

Alternatively, you could look for a 'public interest' pro-bono prisoner rights and appeals legal group to see if anyone would be willing to get involved in the case. Start by searching the web for them. Contact the law schools in the area to see if they have a student group for that.

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Answered on 11/28/17, 12:43 pm


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