Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse First Offense Plea Options

S

scaredsober

New Member
Jurisdiction
Colorado
I have been charged with felony drug possession <1g cocaine and <1g mdma. It is my first offense. I have a lawyer and following his advice I have gotten completely sober of both drugs and alcohol. I am in NA doing the 12 steps, doing regular UA's and working with an addiction counselor. All this has had a positive effect on my case and the DA has given me 2 plea options.

Option 1. Plead guilty to a misdemeanor and do 1 year probation in my home county.

Option 2. Plead guilty to a felony but get placed in a 2 year diversion program. Upon completion of the program my record will be wiped clean.

Obviously option 2 has a better potential outcome but there are some very difficult circumstances surrounding it. I was arrested in the denver area which is about 3.5 hours away from where I currently live and work. The diversion program is operated by the DA office and cannot be transferred to my home county. I will have to be in the denver area often to meet with the DA office and do UA's and such. I live deep in the mountains and the logistics of driving to denver in the winter on a regular basis is not in my favor because the roads are closed fairly regularly. If I mess up at all in those 2 years (i.e. miss a appointment etc…) I get kicked out of the program and get charged with the original felony charges. I could move to denver but I really don't have the money to move without a decent paying job lined up in denver.

I guess my questions is how bad is a misdemeanor? And given my circumstances does it make more sense to just take option 1?

I have read about misdemeanors and have got conflicting info. Obviously I don't want anything on my record but I don't know if moving to denver is a smart decision as I financially cannot afford it and even if I move there is not guarantee I will complete the program. I could mess up the program for any number of reasons like a car accident, etc… I have a coworker who has had a misdemeanor on their record for 12 years and they said they have not had any issues because of it. I am really tempted to go with option 1 and start to rebuild my life.

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
Dude, you have an attorney. That is who you need to discuss this with. Common sense would dictate if you are bound to fail at option 2, you need to take option 1, but your attorney can best advise you what this means for you.
 
Yea, my attorney has expressed to me that option 2 has the best potential outcome but he has his doubts about my ability to complete it. My parents and some of my friends are telling me to do option 2 but obviously it is up to me in the end. I am just trying to bounce this off as many people as possible. My main question is basically is a misdemeanor so bad that I should do everything in my power to get a clean record or will it not really be so bad?
 
Also even though I have an attorney he is extremely difficult to get a hold of. I am certainly going to discuss this with him when i can but I just want as much info as possible.

Thanks
 
scaredsober said:
I guess my questions is how bad is a misdemeanor?
Click to expand...

That's like asking "how high is up?" Crimes are classified as felonies and misdemeanors, with the former being more serious than the latter and carrying greater potential punishment.

scaredsober said:
And given my circumstances does it make more sense to just take option 1?
Click to expand...

We don't know you and don't know anything about you beyond what you put in your post (in particular, we don't know the details about the program in Denver or what the distance you'd have to travel really means for you). Discuss this with your lawyer.

scaredsober said:
Obviously I don't want anything on my record
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Too late for that. You were charged with a crime, so there will always be something on your record (you should discuss in detail with your attorney what it really means for your record to be "wiped clean"). Of course, you always have the option of taking the case to trial, and you need to discuss with your attorney whether that's a viable option.
 
scaredsober said:
Also even though I have an attorney he is extremely difficult to get a hold of. I am certainly going to discuss this with him when i can but I just want as much info as possible.

Thanks
Click to expand...


You can spend your money and hire a lawyer that you think will better represent you.

No money?

Then, you ride the mule that hauled you this far.
 
Its not that my lawyer is bad its just that he is a very busy guy. I spent my savings on him so I dont have any more $ to look for another and like I said I do believe he is good at his job. Im just torn about which offer to take. They are both tempting for different reasons. I want to just take the misdemeanor so i dont have to move and quit my job (which is a good job) but that charge will follow me forever. The more I read the more I am thinking I should take the diversion program but then the possibility of messing it up and getting the felony freaks me out. There is no obvious choice at this point that I see. Thats why I am just asking everyone I can think of what to do, hearing opinions. Hashing info helps me see the problem from different perspectives and that has been helpful.
 
Thank you very much for your opinion, I agree that it is less risky and doesn't require me to completely uproot my entire life.

Im still open to more opinions if anyone has any other perspectives.
 
scaredsober said:
Thank you very much for your opinion, I agree that it is less risky and doesn't require me to completely uproot my entire life.

Im still open to more opinions if anyone has any other perspectives.
Click to expand...

Expungement is a hoax.

It isn't 100% fool proof, and the records aren't sealed.

You can search MOST online records check services and see just about everything.

Even if you can't on some services, the arrest and all it's details (mugshot, fingerprints, police report) aren't sealed.

Finally, even if CO seals 80% of the incident, the FBI retains the prints and mugshot.

If the plea involves a drug crime, that alone, will disqualify you from many new opportunities.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade.

I'm just telling you what others rarely reveal.

Prove it to yourself, search this website and other legal sites to learn how others who believed it was "sealed" found out otherwise after they did the deal.

Good luck.
 
Hmmm thats interesting. Thanks for the heads up. I will certainly look into that and speak to my attorney about it as well. This is all very helpful, the more info the better. Thanks
 
If you accept the misdemeanor, what do you anticipate having difficulty with having the misdemeanor conviction on your record? Do you plan to change jobs or do anything that a conviction might interfere with?
If not, why not take the simpler offer and just move on with your life instead of uprooting yourself and taking a 2 year risk? After a few years you might have some luck making that misdemeanor go away.
 
scaredsober said:
I have been charged with felony drug possession <1g cocaine and <1g mdma. It is my first offense. I have a lawyer and following his advice I have gotten completely sober of both drugs and alcohol. I am in NA doing the 12 steps, doing regular UA's and working with an addiction counselor. All this has had a positive effect on my case and the DA has given me 2 plea options.

Option 1. Plead guilty to a misdemeanor and do 1 year probation in my home county.

Option 2. Plead guilty to a felony but get placed in a 2 year diversion program. Upon completion of the program my record will be wiped clean.

Obviously option 2 has a better potential outcome but there are some very difficult circumstances surrounding it. I was arrested in the denver area which is about 3.5 hours away from where I currently live and work. The diversion program is operated by the DA office and cannot be transferred to my home county. I will have to be in the denver area often to meet with the DA office and do UA's and such. I live deep in the mountains and the logistics of driving to denver in the winter on a regular basis is not in my favor because the roads are closed fairly regularly. If I mess up at all in those 2 years (i.e. miss a appointment etc…) I get kicked out of the program and get charged with the original felony charges. I could move to denver but I really don't have the money to move without a decent paying job lined up in denver.

I guess my questions is how bad is a misdemeanor? And given my circumstances does it make more sense to just take option 1?

I have read about misdemeanors and have got conflicting info. Obviously I don't want anything on my record but I don't know if moving to denver is a smart decision as I financially cannot afford it and even if I move there is not guarantee I will complete the program. I could mess up the program for any number of reasons like a car accident, etc… I have a coworker who has had a misdemeanor on their record for 12 years and they said they have not had any issues because of it. I am really tempted to go with option 1 and start to rebuild my life.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Listen to your lawyer. That's what you are paying him or her for.
 
Thanks again to everyone who has contributed. I guess the big hurdle for me is finding a decent enough job in denver that i could pay for diversion and having this employer be ok with the fact I have to leave work several times a week to get drug tested. It just seems like a recipe for failure. After re-reading my materials it looks as though I still technically have to be accepted into the program. I have an appointment in 2 weeks with the diversion program people. They might not even give me the diversion as an option. Regardless I do appreciate all the perspectives and input.
 

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