Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer
Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer

Charged With A Crime? It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty.

Pretrial Conference in Denver Courts – PTC – What is the Purpose and How do They Work?

On Behalf of | Oct 3, 2016 | Courts |

Pretrial-Conference-PTC.jpg
Denver Courts Pretrial Conference or PTC Lawyer – What Will Happen There?

When you come to court, the judge wants to have you and the District Attorney talk about a possible resolution. They do this because it would be impossible to take every case to trial. There are simply too many charges filed. So, resolving most of the cases by plea agreement is very important. To facilitate this, judges schedule a pretrial conference. The problem is that the DA can use this time to strengthen their case against you if you talk with them.

Incriminate Yourself at a Pro Se Pre-Trial Conference in Jefferson County Courts? Yes, You Can

District Attorneys in Jefferson County are happy when someone is representing themselves Prose. Why? Because they can ask you questions and then use the answers against you at trial. They can even give you biased advice because you are not their client. Since they are the ones prosecuting you, do you think they will tell you about defenses available to you? Will they tell you how to win your case? Never. Plus, they know you don’t know whether things they tell you about court rules and possible exceptions to the rules is true or not. Only they can benefit from this hearing.

Pre-Trial Conference in Arapahoe County and Douglas County – Police and Victims Advocates Can be Present

District Attorneys in Arapahoe County can invite government workers like police detectives and their own victims advocates to be present to study you and to learn answers to questions. Then, these people can be called as witnesses against you at trial. When you talk to ANYONE about your case, you are actually creating potential witnesses against you for trial. This is why we like to have our clients wait in the lobby while we talk to the DA at a Pre-Trial Conference in Arapahoe County and Douglas County. We don’t want our clients saying anything which can be used against them later.

Adams County Pretrial Conference Cattle Call – One Big Mess

Adams County Courts are a difficult place to be charged criminally. It is unnecessarily busy, as DA’s and police prosecute cases in order to look busy. Their real cases where someone is guilty are actually much less. But, to keep statistics high, their bosses insist they not dismiss cases but go to trial on the word of one accuser. As a result, Pre-Trial Conferences are like a cattle call. They are so packed, that defendants must wait an hour or more to meet with a DA. Then, in most cases the deputy district attorney you are talking to will not have any authority to modify the offer or to dismiss the case. In short, it is generally a waste of time to have a PreTrial Conference in Adams County in more ways than one. The Adams County Da’s office is poorly run and poorly organized from the top down. It shows in every respect.

Colorado Courts Pre-Trial Conference Can be Helpful

A PreTrial Conference can be a helpful tool if you have a deputy DA who has the mind, heart and authority to do the right thing. Your lawyer can assess whether giving that person information to settle or get your case dismissed is wise. Sometimes, this lawyer is looking for the truth, but that is rare. In most cases it is a good idea to feel out the DA on whether they really want the truth – or whether they think you are guilty no matter what evidence you present them. When that happens, we don’t tell them much at all and just schedule the case for trial. No matter what happens at your Pre Trial Conference, it is never a good idea for you to speak with the DA yourself. Always have a criminal defense lawyer debating the evidence and court rules for you.

Never talk to a District Attorney at a Pre-Trial Conference. Instead, have an experienced defense attorney at your side, telling you what the DA is really like without you having to risk self- incrimination by talking. After 25 years meeting with prosecutors, we know who wants the truth and who is just looking for evidence against you at the Pre-Trial Conference. We understand how to defend you. Call us at 303-731-0719, today. Together, we can protect your future.

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net – Kittisak