Our goal is to take your case and win-
not to tell you that you must plea guilty.
Call American Justice (773) 463-1601 to review your case
and explain your options.
Prosecutors usually offer probation
or shorter sentences as an incentive to plea guilty instead of fighting a case. Many lawyers will recommend the prosecutor's offer as "a good deal," because it results in lesser penalties than the defendant would receive if he fought his case and lost.
In our experience, many of these offers are not worth losing the opportunity to win the case at trial. If you win the case and are found "not guilty," there are no legal consequences whatsoever. In fact, you can often have the arrest and charges expunged so your record is entirely clean.
If you submit a plea of guilty and are given probation or conditional discharge, you receive a lighter penalty, but have still been convicted of a crime. The long term consequences of a criminal conviction extend well beyond fines or prison time. You may be:
- Disqualified from future employment
- Facing Removal (Deportation) if you are not a U.S. Citizen
see Chicago Immigration Advocates for more information on fighting criminal deportation.
- Prohibited from voting
- Prohibited from legally posessing firearms
- Required to submit a blood sample to the government
So why do people plea guilty? To save attorney's fees, investigation fees, and the aggravation of enduring a trial. But many people make the decision to enter a plea of guilty without fully considering all of the consequences.
We can perform a review to determine whether you should fight your case. In some instances we do recommend that a person plea guilty. But you should not make a decision of this magnitude and importance without the help of an experienced lawyer to evaluate your chances of winning at trial.
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