Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining takes place in virtually every criminal case. The vast majority of cases are resolved with some type of plea deal.  Some clients say “I will never accept a plea bargain” others take the opposite approach, “Get me the best deal you can”. Whatever, the approach a client may take towards plea bargaining, at Weise Law, the important thing is that every plea offer extended by the prosecution, must be communicated to the client. After all, the plea offer belongs to the client, not the attorney. The story behind the recent case of Byrd v. Skinner offers a very scary scenario of this important concept. Weise  Law is a very experienced criminal defense firm serving all of West Michigan. We represent clients on felony and misdemeanor criminal cases in Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon and Kent counties. We represent individuals accused of assault, domestic assault, drunk driving, drug offenses, criminal sexual conduct, rape, embezzlement, theft crimes, and weapons offenses.

In the Byrd case, the appellate court granted relief to an individual convicted of first-degree murder who was serving life without parole. The Court concluded that the defense attorney was constitutionally ineffective, to the effect that Byrd was denied the opportunity to secure a plea deal. Due to an egregious misunderstanding of the law, the attorney communicated to the prosecution an unwillingness to consider a plea and assured Byrd of an acquittal. Which resulted in any plea negotiations being shut down. The record indicated that the prosecution was willing and interested in offering a plea bargain to Byrd. At Weise Law, we believe in the importance of communicating with our clients to fully understand their goals and objectives for the case. We also believe in and abide by the ethical rules and common sense when it comes to plea bargaining. Our clients can rest assured that their objective will fully be understood and followed. Weise  Law is a very experienced criminal defense firm serving all of West Michigan. We represent clients on felony and misdemeanor criminal cases in Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon and Kent counties. We represent individuals accused of assault, domestic assault, drunk driving, drug offenses, criminal sexual conduct, rape, embezzlement, theft crimes, and weapons offenses.