Are There Common Misconceptions about Taking a Case to Trial?

When Is Accepting a Plea Bargain a Better Option Than Going to Trial?

Interviewer: What would be some of the advantages of going to trial? I know it depends on the case, but for instance, maybe on a drug charge, what would be some of the advantages of going to trial for that?

Exploring the Advantages and Weighing the Disadvantages of the Plea Bargain Offered by the Prosecution

Michael Kramer: The first thing to do, as I indicated, is to get full discovery, and know all the facts against you. The second thing to do is to explore a plea bargain. This should always be explored first before the decision is made to go to trial, because you have to be able to weigh what you can obtain in the way of a plea bargain.

You weigh this against what you can gain by going trial. After you have received the best offer on a plea bargain, you decide whether it is worth it to accept that offer. Or, whether it is worth it to roll the dice and go to trial.

Degrees of Guilt

There are degrees of guilt. In a plea bargain a prosecutor may ask for a higher degree than you believe you can obtain at trial, and therefore you go to trial and you argue that no it should be a lesser degree. Even though I did something wrong, I didn’t do something as wrong as the prosecutor is charging.

There are other cases, such as I did not possess something or I did not commit that crime, where you’re going to trial to ask a judge or a jury for a total not guilty verdict. The individual facts of the case will dictate exactly what you’re asking for at trial.

The Attorney Prepares the Defense of a Case Not When the Trial Date Is Set but When He or She Is Retained by the Client

Interviewer: When does the trial date get determined?

Michael Kramer: Trial dates are set depending on court calendars.

Interviewer: When that trial date is set what do you do? What do you do to prepare?

Michael Kramer: My preparation begins not with the setting of a trial date, but when I get the case. If I feel there is a good chance a case will go to trial my preparation starts at that time. Everything I do in that case is directed towards the possibility that it might wind up in a trial. Every piece of evidence I discover, every argument I come up with is fit into a category.

Eventually all of these facts and all of these defenses and all the discovery are compiled in such a manner that it reads like a book. It’s presented like a book, and therefore when the trial date is set you feel confident that you don’t even need that much time to prepare, because you’ve been doing it all along.

Preparing at the Last Minute Will Not Achieve the Best Results

I don’t find that preparing the last minute, as if you are cramming for a test, for example, gets you the best results. You really have to start preparing way in advance of obtaining a trial date.

Interviewer: How far away is the date usually set?

Most Trials Occur 6 Months to a Year after the First Court Appearance

Michael Kramer: It can be six to eight months. I’ve had trials that took place a year or two years after the first court appearance. Again, this is all depending upon the court calendars and how busy the court is that will hear this case. The right to a speedy trial doesn’t necessarily mean you will have a speedy trial, especially in Westchester County.

Is it to the Defendant’s Advantage to Delay the Trial?

I find it more or less true that the longer a case is delayed the more it benefits a defendant, witnesses memories fade, witnesses become unavailable. So, usually there’s no need for a speedy trial in most circumstances, not all. There are other cases that it is better to push as much as you can for a speedy trial.