Q: My brother was sentenced to 16 years in prison in FL with 0 evidence but heresay? Is he able to file for retrial ?
He only had a public defender and my dad and stepmom are the ones that believe my little stepsister. Even her blood brothers don’t believe her because she is known to lie! Because he was facing over 35 years for both charges he took a plea deal and only got 16 years
A: To be certain, a criminal defense attorney must be consulted. In general, it's very tough to get out of a plea deal if the judge has already accepted it, and the defendant cannot "file for retrial" if there was no trial to begin with. There are very limited circumstances in which the court will allow withdrawal of a plea, such as where it was discovered that the State covered up evidence showing innocence, ineffective assistance of counsel, or other circumstances demonstrating that it was an obvious injustice. For this very serious matter, do NOT rely on online answers or information; have an attorney review the matter - which will cost money.
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