Legal Questions

[Max #01]

Always get a lawyer when dealing with charges, even if seemingly small.

You need a lawyer to at least avoid having to register as sex offender. That will likely make you lose your job or not be able to find another.

Good lunck!

-Shark-.

You can get the sex offender rap laid on you these days for being caught taking a leak on your own property.

[Marlowe]

I haven't done a case like this in a long time. Used to be the fine was $150 plus penalty assessments. That ended up being about 500. I think it's more now but don't know exactly. Used to be penalty assessments was about 3 times the cost of the fine, now I think it's 4. There are other fees as well. 500 may be low, but $4 k is way overblown.

But regardless, if you can come up with the cash, it's worth investing a few grand to avoid a filing in the first place.

In 1987 the fine was $250, the penalty assessment was $2,500 plus a separate court fee of $1500 in Hollywood Division. I somehow doubt the cost has gone down.

[Defense Lawyer]

$600 is a way low ball figure. More like $500 for the actual fine, but around $4000 in what they call penalty assessments which is a de facto fine imposed by the court for being incovenienced to hear your case. This is on top of the legal costs for your defense.

I haven't done a case like this in a long time. Used to be the fine was $150 plus penalty assessments. That ended up being about 500. I think it's more now but don't know exactly. Used to be penalty assessments was about 3 times the cost of the fine, now I think it's 4. There are other fees as well. 500 may be low, but $4 k is way overblown.

But regardless, if you can come up with the cash, it's worth investing a few grand to avoid a filing in the first place.

[Marlowe]

There's no guarantees here. First of all you can find cheaper lawyers, and while it's not always you get what you pay for, it's usually the case that you don't get what you don't pay for. There are plenty of high priced crappy lawyers, but there are very few low priced great lawyers out there (except PDs).

A PD may be able to work your case down to a trespassing (penal code section 602) after a long brawl and if there's equities on his side of the case, but the one thing that PD will never be able to do is to try and prevent a filing, since PDs can't be retained until a filing has already taken place. So for sure he loses out on one opportunity to do something about the case by waiting until a filing.

If he's just going to plead no contest, the fact is that he'll do fine by a PD. They are in that court all the time, they know the offers and the range of cases that go with those offers. He won't have a problem. But if there are holes in the case or there are strong equities (such as no prior record, long history of community ties, blah blah blah) then a very good time to bring that forward is before the case is filed. Once it's filed it takes on a life of its own.

The fines and fees will probably be more than $600, but that's probably around the ballpark. It could even be more though. That's why I asked if he has money. But seriously, this will NEVER go away, even if it's later expunged and the like. Someone will ALWAYS be able to find it if he's convicted. The internet never disappears. So to me, in my financial situation (which I recognize may not be the same as others on this board), I would seriously not hesitate to get a lawyer now and try to head off a filing if possible. It's a no brainer.

$600 is a way low ball figure. More like $500 for the actual fine, but around $4000 in what they call penalty assessments which is a de facto fine imposed by the court for being incovenienced to hear your case. This is on top of the legal costs for your defense.

[Defense Lawyer]

Out of curiosity, if he pays a couple thousand dollars to get a lawyer, could he possibly get off with no charges?

Could it be better to use a PD, plead no contest, and just pay the fines and do some community service? Maybe pay $600 for court costs and fines, and then in a year or two fill out the paperwork to expunge his record.

Can a lawyer really wipe this thing out?

There's no guarantees here. First of all you can find cheaper lawyers, and while it's not always you get what you pay for, it's usually the case that you don't get what you don't pay for. There are plenty of high priced crappy lawyers, but there are very few low priced great lawyers out there (except PDs).

A PD may be able to work your case down to a trespassing (penal code section 602) after a long brawl and if there's equities on his side of the case, but the one thing that PD will never be able to do is to try and prevent a filing, since PDs can't be retained until a filing has already taken place. So for sure he loses out on one opportunity to do something about the case by waiting until a filing.

If he's just going to plead no contest, the fact is that he'll do fine by a PD. They are in that court all the time, they know the offers and the range of cases that go with those offers. He won't have a problem. But if there are holes in the case or there are strong equities (such as no prior record, long history of community ties, blah blah blah) then a very good time to bring that forward is before the case is filed. Once it's filed it takes on a life of its own.

The fines and fees will probably be more than $600, but that's probably around the ballpark. It could even be more though. That's why I asked if he has money. But seriously, this will NEVER go away, even if it's later expunged and the like. Someone will ALWAYS be able to find it if he's convicted. The internet never disappears. So to me, in my financial situation (which I recognize may not be the same as others on this board), I would seriously not hesitate to get a lawyer now and try to head off a filing if possible. It's a no brainer.

[Christophe1]

Alright, been a long time since I've posted here, but I can see people are hurting. I'm here to do my part haha!

A lewd act in public (647 (a)) is not a registrable offense. It used to be, back in the 1940's and 50's. I think it's been at least 30 or 40 years that it hasn't been. They used to use that charge to arrest gay people for trying to hook up with other gay people believe it or not! Welcome to the world of the Republican Party or Republican guard, same difference. But I digress.

You should absolutely get an attorney, and if you cannot afford one then get a public defender. I don't know where this happened, but where it happened can help determine what kind of a disposition you'll get.

If you have no record the likely offer will be a choice of fine / jail / community service, but a plea to the charge. You really don't want that on your record. If you can avoid it then you should. One of the other posters here noted that the police are very likely going to write the report to say that they saw you guys in full act, or at least with your junk out and her undressed. They simply wouldn't arrest you unless they were planning on saying that. So expect the police report to be full of details that may or may not be true, or at least are very distorted.

Seeing as your charged with a misdemeanor, if you get a public defender you're likely to get a younger and less experienced one, but also one that is probably gung ho and ready for action. Don't be afraid of a PD. Many are very good. If you have the money to hire a lawyer then you should do so. There's no way I'm going to start naming names here on this site, but there are very good lawyers that you can get for a few thousand dollars that may be able to work some magic prior to your going to court. People assume that the value of money is that you get a good lawyer who fights harder for you and is smarter. That's wrong The value of money is a lawyer who fights for you BEFORE the case is actually filed. There's far more discretion to act prior to a filing. Since public defenders don't get the case until its already been filed, then they lose out on a huge opportunity to do something before filing. So if you're willing to spend a few thousand to possibly prevent a filing or at least put yourself in a better position, do it quickly and LONG before your court date with a private lawyer. If you don't have money, you'll probably do ok with a PD (depending on where this happened), so don't stress out.

Even if you get a PD, I would ask that your arraignment be put over for a few weeks so that you can hire a private lawyer, even if you don't end up hiring one. You can at least consult with a few and maybe get some information from them. You can also find out from the PD what the offer is on the case and whether you want to take the deal at some later point.

The offer may go up if you don't take it at the arraignment and you set it for trial. However, it usually does not go up if you waive time for arraignment and put the case over to consider hiring a private lawyer.

All in all this completely sucks, and the law on this is pretty bad. There's this renewed emphasis on prostitutes as victims of human trafficking, and therefore johns are this new subset of evil. I think much of that is bullshit, but know that the courts are starting to think differently about prostitution and it's not in a more favorable way to the guys out there seeking sex.

PM me for more details if you have any questions. Good luck!

Out of curiosity, if he pays a couple thousand dollars to get a lawyer, could he possibly get off with no charges?

Could it be better to use a PD, plead no contest, and just pay the fines and do some community service? Maybe pay $600 for court costs and fines, and then in a year or two fill out the paperwork to expunge his record.

Can a lawyer really wipe this thing out?

[Defense Lawyer]

Alright, been a long time since I've posted here, but I can see people are hurting. I'm here to do my part haha!

A lewd act in public (647 (a)) is not a registrable offense. It used to be, back in the 1940's and 50's. I think it's been at least 30 or 40 years that it hasn't been. They used to use that charge to arrest gay people for trying to hook up with other gay people believe it or not! Welcome to the world of the Republican Party or Republican guard, same difference. But I digress.

You should absolutely get an attorney, and if you cannot afford one then get a public defender. I don't know where this happened, but where it happened can help determine what kind of a disposition you'll get.

If you have no record the likely offer will be a choice of fine / jail / community service, but a plea to the charge. You really don't want that on your record. If you can avoid it then you should. One of the other posters here noted that the police are very likely going to write the report to say that they saw you guys in full act, or at least with your junk out and her undressed. They simply wouldn't arrest you unless they were planning on saying that. So expect the police report to be full of details that may or may not be true, or at least are very distorted.

Seeing as your charged with a misdemeanor, if you get a public defender you're likely to get a younger and less experienced one, but also one that is probably gung ho and ready for action. Don't be afraid of a PD. Many are very good. If you have the money to hire a lawyer then you should do so. There's no way I'm going to start naming names here on this site, but there are very good lawyers that you can get for a few thousand dollars that may be able to work some magic prior to your going to court. People assume that the value of money is that you get a good lawyer who fights harder for you and is smarter. That's wrong The value of money is a lawyer who fights for you BEFORE the case is actually filed. There's far more discretion to act prior to a filing. Since public defenders don't get the case until its already been filed, then they lose out on a huge opportunity to do something before filing. So if you're willing to spend a few thousand to possibly prevent a filing or at least put yourself in a better position, do it quickly and LONG before your court date with a private lawyer. If you don't have money, you'll probably do ok with a PD (depending on where this happened), so don't stress out.

Even if you get a PD, I would ask that your arraignment be put over for a few weeks so that you can hire a private lawyer, even if you don't end up hiring one. You can at least consult with a few and maybe get some information from them. You can also find out from the PD what the offer is on the case and whether you want to take the deal at some later point.

The offer may go up if you don't take it at the arraignment and you set it for trial. However, it usually does not go up if you waive time for arraignment and put the case over to consider hiring a private lawyer.

All in all this completely sucks, and the law on this is pretty bad. There's this renewed emphasis on prostitutes as victims of human trafficking, and therefore johns are this new subset of evil. I think much of that is bullshit, but know that the courts are starting to think differently about prostitution and it's not in a more favorable way to the guys out there seeking sex.

PM me for more details if you have any questions. Good luck!

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

[Marlowe]

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

That's what you say. The problem is that the cops will write in their report that they observed the female fellating your organ. They don't care about lying, because they assume that a judge and / or a jury is going to believe them because they are cops. A good lawyer can bargain it down to a solicitation charge that won't require you to register as a sex offender. The fine is expensive, the penalty assessment cost is even worse, and you might have to take an HIV class. You definitely need a lawyer.

[BlackAndTan76]

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

Where was this at? I know different agencies have different rules. Was it police or sheriffs.

[Deerom]

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

Absolutely have a lawyer. You just don't know what they might try to throw at you, especially in an election year.

[Shark in OC]

Just wondering, does the LE's involved in sting operations have their own jurisdictions?

I'm just asking for those of us that are searching online. Would having the girls come to you or meeting outside their cities prevent (or at least lessen the risk) of running into a sting?

For the same reason that a police chase can cross county lines. There is no law against it.

Cops will not respect any jurisdictional boundaries if they can get a collar. If she is under age or crossing state lines, that would make it a federal felony anyway. No jurisdiction there.

-Shark-.

[Shark in OC]

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

Always get a lawyer when dealing with charges, even if seemingly small.

You need a lawyer to at least avoid having to register as sex offender. That will likely make you lose your job or not be able to find another.

Good lunck!

-Shark-.

[Exciter78]

Hi there. I picked up a girl and cops followed me to a spot and charged me with public lewdness. I managed to see them coming and was able to put away my member. Girl also quickly dressed. Was caught in middle of buckling up.

This is my first offense. Just wondering if this is something I need a lawyer or something I should fight? Plead no contest? Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

[LimaBeansStink]

Does anybody know?

Sworn peace officers in CA have the ability to enforce state laws throughout the state. The only place outside their jurisdiction is across state lines.

[Shimano]

Just wondering, does the LE's involved in sting operations have their own jurisdictions?

I'm just asking for those of us that are searching online. Would having the girls come to you or meeting outside their cities prevent (or at least lessen the risk) of running into a sting?

Does anybody know?