Our client was an international student about to finish her last semester of college when she was arrested and charged with three felonies. One of the felonies charged, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Our client’s boyfriend was also arrested and charged with nearly identical crimes. Head Murphy Law referred the boyfriend to a criminal defense attorney colleague. We, along with our co-counsel were able to get five of the charged felony counts dismissed following a Preliminary Examination that lasted 3 days, but the most serious felonies remained. The State then amended the charges and added additional counts.
We fought back and filed additional motions in the circuit court. Because of our tenacious advocacy, we were able to negotiate a favorable resolution for our client. All of our client’s charges were dismissed, in exchange for her pleading guilty to a low-level common law offense and agreeing to return to her home country (which was already her plan). Our client was able to finish school, obtain her bachelor’s degree, and put that nightmare behind her.