One need not be a lawyer to assist in the defense of a loved one, and in fact, it is the family and community that may end up being the determining factor in shifting the outcome of a case. The remarkable stories shared in this guide prove that truth.
practice. In the following pages, you will read the stories of some of these cases, but more importantly, also see specific action steps the community took in particular points of the case. You will read powerful summaries written from a parent who beat charges against her child, and of an extraordinary win when a mother, battletested through a case of her own family, came to the assistance of another family. You will also read from those who were facing charges, and are home now due to their resolve and their family’s involvement. Some of those writings started while they were detained, and were finished when they were released. The point though is not to hold these stories up as unique wins, but rather to say such accomplishments can be achieved by any community or family who asserts their inherent power. And despite whatever particular realities define the specific makeups of various counties and states, the common denominator that families and communities face regardless of location is the staggering failures of the criminal justice system nationwide. The backdrop to these stories is that despite the popular perception of the criminal court process, very few people accused of a crime actually get their “day in court.” In fact, nationwide,
less than five percent of all felony cases, for example, ever reach the trial stage. Consequently, one of the most fundamental rights afforded to the accused – to have a public hearing – is circumvented on a daily basis. In counties across the country, it is clear that one primary cause of ballooning incarceration rates can be found at resolution stages well before a trial, where the truth of the matter may be sidelined in the interest of expediency. The majority of cases are resolved through a legal device called a “plea bargain” – an agreement between the prosecutor and the accused in which the individual pleads guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence or a reduced charge. Certainly, some of the cases that are resolved through a plea bargain involve an authentic and complete decision-making process. But oftentimes, defendants who “choose” to take a plea, often are making no choice at all based on their feelings of innocence or guilt, or a fully informed assessment of the case against them, or appropriateness of the given sentence. Rather, they are being forced into the decision based on a sense of being overwhelmed and alone. Couple that sense of isolation with the common 2