Los Angeles Hit and Run Lawyer Blog
Negotiations are everything in a Los Angeles Hit and Run case. They can make the difference between you being convicted, and your case never being filed at all. Why is this the case? Because certain steps can be taken in between the incident having happened, and the filing of the case that can help prevent it from being filed at all. The best person to handle these negotiations is someone who has been doing it for over thirty years, like the Los Angeles Hit and Run lawyers at Hoffman and Associates.
Let’s go through the beginning of a Hit and Run case so that you can better understand what is meant by negotiations.
David is driving home from a friends house on a windy, rainy day. He is having trouble seeing, and ends up hitting a parked car in his neighborhood. It is late at night, and it is raining, so David decides to go home, and address the situation in the morning. The next morning he sleeps through his alarm, and ends up rushing to work. He decides to speak to his neighbor that afternoon. However, his neighbor, not knowing it was David, has already reported the hit and run to authorities and they are investigating the incident and speaking to neighbors. David immediately calls and retains a Los Angeles Hit and Run attorney. The attorney meets David at his local police station, where David gives a statement to officers, letting them know that he was the one that hit the parked car, and his intentions of speaking to his neighbor. With his attorney there, David has been advised what to say and what not to say. When David is going to say something incriminating, or something that should not be said, David is advised by his counsel to remain silent. His counsel knows the officer that is taking the interview. The officer knows that the attorney will work hard to make amends, and takes note that David voluntarily came in, making the officer’s investigation easy and saving the county’s resources.
Once the statement is given, the attorney immediately contacts the neighbor. He speaks to the neighbor at length and sympathizes with the damage. He negotiates an amount with the neighbor, and the insurance company, that will help restore the vehicle to what it was prior to the accident. Once the neighbor is satisfied and happy, the attorney will then work on getting what is called a civil compromise completed. This civil compromise generally is a statement from the aggrieved party, stating that their damages have been taken care of and they no longer wish to press criminal charges.
At this point the officers have submitted the statement to the prosecutors office to determine whether formal charges need to be filed. The attorney calls the prosecutors and begins negotiations with the prosecutors. Presenting arguments, evidence, weaknesses in their case and of course, the civil compromise. This is in efforts to get the case entirely dismissed before it is even filed.
As you can see, the role of the attorney in negotiations is extremely crucial. Don’t take a chance on your future, retain a Los Angeles Hit and Run lawyer today to ensure the best possible chances of getting your case reduced or dismissed entirely!