Mandatory minimums, does it mean that is min. amount time served?

[snotrocket]

my partner was arrested in multnomah county, Oregon. the charges he is facing are assault 1 and 2, and robbery 2. he has no prior felony convictions. there is a pretty hefty mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years for one of the charges, and 10 for another. now, does this mean that he is going to have to serve all those years? the judge CAN suspend some, correct? does anyone have any idea about what kind of time he might be looking at? thanks in advance for the help!

[EricsGal]

Mandatory minimums are horrible. I am not a lawyer and but I do believe your friend should hire a lawyer asap! My husband dealt with a public defender and didn't fare so well - Long story but I would have hired a lawyer.

[fbopnomore]

I agree that his lawyer will know all of the available possibilities for the sentences he can receive in Oregon. One way to avoid MMs is if the prosecutor drops that count, or charges under another statute that doesn't have one, but that is often difficult to obtain in a plea bargain.

You will find some interesting information about MMs on the FAMM web site (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) http://www.famm.org/

[snotrocket]

yeah, when I discovered the mms I started to get pretty worried. I've looked up his public defender online, and uncovered some sketchy info about him. my old man has indigent status, no possible way to afford a lawyer. family abandoned him years ago, and i'm pretty much the ONLY support he has. i've been trying to educate myself as much as possible, but it's extremely frustrating and confusing. not to even mention how utterly helpless I feel. pulling my hair out over here!

[fbopnomore]

Not knowing what lies ahead is the most difficult part. Everything is up to the prosecutor and the police, and all he can do is to react at whatever they decide to charge him with.

As that happens, his lawyer will try to minimize the damage. Public Defenders have many resources available to defend him, even though he is not paying the lawyer directly. If he was able to afford a top legal team, he would have a better chance to prevail (the American way), but the PD gives him a much stronger chance than he would have on his own.

[yourself]

Remember, generally the charges and the maximum on those charges is an absolute WORST case scenario.

Remember, what he's charged with is usually not what he winds up with.

Mandatory Minimums and the fear they instill in a person is one of the reasons a lot of people will plea to lesser offenses.

If I understand you right, your partner's been charged, and that's it. There's a long way to go to get from charging to sentencing (if it ever gets to sentencing). He's not in prison yet, so don't put him there in your mind, don't convict him before the PD has a chance to get discovery and take a look at the case.

That it's his first real offense also means that the State's Attorney will be more apt to deal with him as well.

Don't focus on the worst case scenario. Focus on the here and now - if he's in jail, keep his spirits up, make sure he has money on his books and takes advantage of any interesting/relevant programming offered to pretrials in jail. If he's a reader, make sure he's getting books. If he's out on bond, make sure he adheres to his bond conditions, keep his spirits up, and try to continue on with life as if this crap isn't hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles.

Start working on getting a support system in place for both of you - you'll both benefit from it.

[snotrocket]

I understand that the maximum sentence is the worst case scenario. but does mandatory minimum mean that he will HAVE to serve that time in prison, if convicted? and thank you all, so much. I feel super fortunate to have access to this site, and all the info contained on it.

[yourself]

that would be the minimum amount of time he'd get. Whether he serves that amount of time, or gets credit such as day for day or 85% depends on the policies of the jurisdiction, and to some extent, the crime itself.