Q: I was arrested in Florida and charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest without (no prior criminal history of ANY KIND)
Arrested 23 months ago resisting arrest without violence) I've already had 1 mistrial (jury couldn't reach a unanimous decision). This prosecutor won't let this go, so I'm going to trial AGAIN, 86 days after the mistrial. I never waived my speedy trial rights, and suddenly only certain footage of ONE officers body camera is available (5 other cops body camera footage just suddenly disappeared).
First interaction I had was with the arresting officer was him walking into my house, banging his baton on the walls, then he only said, "get the eff up before I beat your head in". He never said who he was or that he was going to arrest me (that footage IS available).
My brand new public defender who's never gone to trial told me "you're gonna lose, period".
Really? Is there anything that'll help me at all?
A: What are the reasons your lawyer (APD) has formed a professional opinion that you will likely lose if you take the case to trial? (And I assume that his/her opinion on that is accompanying his/her advice about plea negotiations.) That's the first step in analyzing your situation. Does the explanation to you make sense? If, upon first communication, it doesn't make sense to you, are there more details about the factual and/or legal basis for your lawyer's opinion that are needed to understand why he/she has formed that opinion? Or is there something you need to physically see in order to believe what he/she is saying? If so, engage in those kind of communications. If you cannot afford private counsel, and you have communication problems with your APD or otherwise have solid grounds to believe that he/she is not living up to professional standards, your options include asking the PD's Office if they can assign new counsel and/or requesting the Judge to appoint replacement counsel, often referred to as a "Nelson motion" that may result in a "Nelson hearing."
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