Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Im a witness to the case of a friend who i went out with. And was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence. He was about to finish up his probation when he got arrested for an incident with his girlfriend (not me), and now he is in court again. As i helped him hired and pay for lawyers i found things that really hurt me. Then i invented a falce website of this last girl and send messages as if she was threateng me and him to say that he hit her. I dont want to hurt him, he believes it was his ex who send those messages so i know he is going to bring that up with his lawyers. And i dont know how to aproach them without him knowing. Im paying for his lawyers but im afraid they will still tell him about this or if i dont say anything they will eventually know it was me and lose his case. Help please.


Asked on 1/04/14, 8:06 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

David M. Wallin Law Offices OF David M. Wallin

Other than you being found out, as a criminal defense attorney, my job is to get defendants the best outcome possible. So unless your facts help the defendant in some way, they are not of any importance to me or any defense attorney. These facts may cause you embarrassment, but that's all....i wish you well.....David

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Answered on 1/04/14, 8:24 pm
Kelvin Green The Law Office of Kelvin Green

How does this change the evidence in the case at hand? I agree with Mr Wallin that unless there is something specific that helps the defense it does not matter....

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Answered on 1/05/14, 11:07 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Mr. Wallin and Mr. Green are probably right that your friend's case won't suffer if you tell his lawyers about this. In fact, he will be better off if they have this information, since he won't end up looking foolish if he relies on the "evidence" and then the prosecution proves it's fake.

But there are other things you should be concerned about. The girlfriend might sue you for defamation and/or other causes of action. You could also be prosecuted for identity theft, computer trespass, or other crimes.

Also, the prosecutor and/or the girlfriend may figure out what you've done. Perhaps they have already. If the "evidence" you created has already become an issue in the case, they may subpoena you to testify. They could also subpoena records from your website. Indeed, if they know about the website, they likely subpoenaed those records already. And even if they didn't initially think you had anything to do with the site, the information they obtained probably points to you.

How don't know how likely any of these things are. And they could happen even if you don't tell your friend's lawyers what you did. My sense is that telling them won't dramatically increase these risks. But you may want to hire your own lawyer to advise you and guide you through this process.

Good luck.

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Answered on 1/05/14, 1:58 pm


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