Acquittal On Felony Charges That Carried Mandatory Minimum Jail Term

In a Trial that concluded on October 13th, 2010, Attorney Todd D. Greenberg obtained an acquittal of a serious assault charge for his client which would have resulted in a mandatory minimum state prison time of three and one half years to a maximum of fifteen years if found guilty. The Defendant and complainant were at a bar and had an argument over a card game. They tussled in the bar and, approximately one hour later, the Defendant was accused of hitting the complainant over the head with a bat in front of the complainant’s house. The Defendant was acquitted of the most serious charge and found guilty of a lesser assault which did not require a mandatory minimum jail term. At sentencing, citing the well prepared pre-sentence memorandum submitted by the defense, instead of the Defendant receiving three and one half years in prison, the Defendant was sentenced to 364 days in prison of which he will serve approximately 7 months. Significantly, Attorney Greenberg was able to persuade the Judge to sentence the Defendant to 364 days instead of one year which would affect the Defendant’s immigration status in the United States. Since the sentence is less than one year, the Defendant is not automatically deportable due to the conviction. Once again, knowledge of the Criminal Law and knowledge of the Immigration Laws helped Addabbo and Greenberg’s client avoid a lengthy prison sentence and deportation.