Law Office of Jason Cleckner

If you face 181 days in jail or a $1,001 fine (or in some other circumstances), you are entitled by Statute to have a jury trial. This means that 12 people will be drawn from a larger pool of voters and registered drivers, and they will decide your case. The Government will put on evidence, you may put on evidence, the judge will rule on admissibility and motions, and then the jury will decide the case. Their decision must be unanimous. Unless all 12 jurors believe beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty, you must be acquitted. This applies to each count in the indictment. If the decision can't be unanimous, this is called a hung jury, and the Government can decide whether or not to re-try you.

You can also opt for a bench trial. The trial will be the same, with minor differences. But the one BIG difference is that the judge alone will decide if you are guilty.

In some cases, a motion to dismiss the indictment, information, or other charging document, may be successful. This means that the case must be dismissed. The Government can then decide whether or not to re-file the charges. There are also several other motions, such as to suppress evidence, and to suppress identification. Therefore, it is very IMPORTANT that you retain an attorney immediately upon being charged. Often, these motions have a strict filing deadline. And often, they take a lot of work and time.

Be truthful with your attorney! We must know more than the Government. This is the only way we can be fully successful in plea negotiations. For traffic cases, keep in mind that the DC OAG REQUIRES us to provide a complete, certified driving record and a certifed Probation Before Judgment record (for Maryland drivers) before a plea will be considered. You should provide these documents to my office a week before our Status or Trial dates.