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One of the best kept secrets in criminal defense is the compromise of misdemeanor. To put it simply the compromise of misdemeanor is a type of resolution available in criminal cases that involve either real property, or some kind of financial culpability. If a Judge approves the compromise then the criminal charge would get dismissed and the defendant would be able to move on without a criminal conviction on their record. So what exactly is it.

Well lets say an individual is arrested and charged with property destruction. For example the defendant is a kid who was shooting a bb gun at windows and breaking them. Or lets say the defendant was spray painting a wall and charged with some kind of graffiti charge. Or lets say the defendant is charged with theft from an individual, or a business. What is the one thing all of these offenses have in common. If the victim is paid for their losses, then they are made whole again. In other words if the defendant pays for the broken window, or pays to have the wall repainted, or pays for the cost of the items taken then the victim has been made whole again.

So how does the compromise work. Well first the defense attorney needs to find out who the victim is and contact them. Then they need to carefully ask if they would agree to a compromise of misdemeanor if they are made financially whole again. If they agree to it then the attorney should make arrangements for the defendant to repay for the damage, then have the victim sign an affidavit stating they have been repaid for their losses, and they have no objection to the charge being dismissed.

Once that is taken care of then the defense attorney will provide the following to the Judge: the affidavit signed by the victim, a motion to grant the compromise misdemeanor, and an order dismissing the criminal case. After those items have been presented to the Judge, then the defense attorney explains the circumstances with the victim and simply asks the court to grant the compromise.

In most situations a Judge will defer to the victim and if they have no objection to the dismissal and have been made financially whole then a Judge is likely to grant the motion and dismiss the case. As stated above this is a little known resolution, and is probably the best kept secret in criminal defense in terms of representing a client and getting a good outcome for them.

Matthew Leyba is a Seattle DUI Lawyer in Washington State. His practice focuses on representing those accused of DUI and other serious traffic offenses. He is the owner of Leyba Defense PLLC, a boutique Seattle DUI Law Firm.

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You may hear the term jury deadlocked, or hung jury in today's media culture. But what does it really mean in a DUI case. To put it simply in your standard DUI jury trial there are 6 members of the jury. To reach a decision the verdict must be unanimous. Meaning in order to find the defendant guilty or not guilty all members of the jury panel must agree.

However there are times when this will not happen. And some of the jurors will reach different decisions regarding the facts, witnesses, and legal issues in a DUI case. When that happens the jury becomes deadlocked, or hung among the panel. Generally when that happens there are a couple of things that will happen.

First is a Judge will always ask the jury to go back and try and reach a decision. Usually that conversation states like this. The Judge will inquire as to what the hold up is. Then the Judge will ask if the jurors think they can reach a decision. Judge's aren't stupid. They know if the jury cannot reach a decision then that means extra work, and additional legal issues to be sorted out later. If the jury thinks they can reach a verdict then the Judge will usually tell the jury to go back and try to work out any issues that may exist.

Secondly if the jury says they cannot reach a unanimous decision, and they are deadlocked. Then that means the case will end in a mistrial. Meaning a decision cannot be rendered, and the entire case would start over. There is no penalty for the jury or anything. They are released and free to talk about the case. However because the entire case would have to start over this is not good for either party, but especially for the Prosecution.

In my experience in DUI cases that end up in a mistrial, depending on the facts of the case, and the defendants criminal history the case may not be retried. Usually Prosecutors will look at the facts, and the history in making that decision. If the defendant has never been in trouble before, and the facts of the case are not egregious then they can choose to not retry the case, which would result in a dismissal of the charges, or they can offer a plea deal which was not made before. Typically the later is what happens, but sometimes the charges will just be outright dismissed.

Matthew Leyba practices law in Washington state as a Seattle DUI Lawyer. He is widely considered a top Seattle DUI Attorney in his field, and widely respected among his peers.

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