Lawyer Help on sentencing guidelines...

[Highlander]

I have a friend who was involved in a horrible traffic accident a year ago. He survived (barely), but three other people in the accident did not. He was just charged with 3 counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle, which is a class 1 misdemeanor, and the accident occurred in NC.

What type of sentence is he facing? I ask because someone I know has been asked to write a letter vouching for his character, so I assume he plans to plead guilty. The only thing I can find is that Class 1 Misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of greater than 6 months in jail.

Any lawyers on the board care to weigh in? As far as I know, he is a first time offender, the accident was his fault, but it was entirely unintentional.

[Cavlaw]

My mandatory caveat is that I'm not a criminal attorney, I'm a corporate slave, and I'm only licensed in Illinois, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. Or sand. Whatever.

Hopefully one of the prosecutors floating around here can offer something better, but for what it's worth:

It appears that NC ostensibly has a chart (http://www.nccourts.org/spac/documents/misdemeanorpunishmentchart.pdf) to offer guidance on this sort of thing.

That said, I only have two bits of advice:

1. He's better off with a lawyer than without. Sometimes the cost seems excessive, but I can't say enough about the benefits of having an experience advisor and advocate when facing a terrible, terrifying situation like this.

2. He's better off trying to come to an understanding with the prosecutor prior to going to court than just showing up and pleading guilty to the judge. The prosecutor has the power to reduce the charges, to agree with lesser penalties, and to determine whether or not to appeal a sentence that might be less than the guidelines suggest.

[dkbaseball]

I agree with Cavlaw that a lawyer is needed in this case, even if your friend anticipates pleading guilty. He should get someone who is tight with the prosecution, and knows who in the prosecutor's office would be the best person to see. Often, this will be someone different from the lawyer who has a reputation for duking it out in court (though such a person would certainly have some leverage with the prosecution). But I'd think someone in the good 'ol boy network would be best able to put a human face on the case for the prosecutors.

A Duke football player, Raphael Chestnut, faced the same charge in North Carolina. Maybe you can find out what sentence he got.