Q: I accepted a 48mo plea, my guidelines were 78.. Delivery or manufacturing meth, I sold to a snitch.. I bonded out,
Went to rehab on my own, and have been to IOP and aa&na like 70x times since getting outta rehab jan22nd.. also recently started working.. I asked my attorney nonstop about drug court, he never brought it up at court n is saying I got a chance at swift&sure.. Also I was taking off bond conditions n tether due to all clean drops n following the rules, which I've never done in my life prior 2 this situation.. My attorney jus seems like my only chance of swift &sure rides on me going to AA everyday until jun26th day of sentencing.. Soo should I pull my plea?on the grounds of my attorney only calling me bk really when I sent an email letting him know he was fired due to the lack of communication & him never calling me bk on atleast 5diff occasions n he didn't even try for drug court... Any suggestions??
A:
Let's consider a few things here:
You pled to delivering or manufacturing meth with, presumably, a recommended sentence of no more than 48 months. Your guidelines otherwise call for a sentence exceeding 78 months. Those are prison guidelines, and if you get anything less than prison, your attorney did a hell of a job for you.
Your attorney remains the best source of advice as, presumably, he or she knows the court and judge. Based only on the charge you pled to, drug court is likely not even an option. They typically do not accept major drug offenses such as delivery / manufacturing as a matter of policy. That probably explains why, despite your desires, your attorney is not suggesting it to be an option - because it's not.
Your attorney may be right that the only shot you have at staying out of prison is to go above and beyond with AA meetings and such. With your stated history and charged offense, you're really operating with zero tolerance. What your attorney is probably trying to tell you with his or her advice is that you're in a situation where you need to do everything right just for a chance to stay out of prison.
Under what basis would you be able to pull your plea? You have to have a legal reason to do so that convinces the judge to allow it. I'm not seeing a legal reason here: you plead with some sort of sentencing recommendation of 48-months in prison. You would receive the full benefit of your plea if the judge gave you all 48-months. That your attorney is not asking for an alternative without merit (e.g. drug court), and is telling your quite honestly that you need to do X, Y, and Z just for a chance to be on swift and sure, is honest advice and not worthy of plea withdraw.
Do you really think you'll have a better outcome by withdrawing your plea? You said you sold to a snitch; of course you can attack his or her credibility in trial, but...you should worry if the judge let's you withdraw this plea because not only would drug court be out the window, but you could kiss goodbye any chance at swift and sure as well.
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