Felony Hit and Run Causing Great Bodily Harm Amended to Misdemeanor without Injury
Prosecutors charged our client with a felony count of hit and run, causing great bodily harm after he was involved in an accident and left the scene. Police, who investigated the case prior to the client hiring our firm, contacted him about his car being involved in an accident. The client admitted to driving and being involved in the crash. Authorities then filed a felony criminal charge against him. Due to our client's business, he could not afford a felony conviction. Nor could he stay in business if his license was revoked for a period of two years, one of the consequences of being convicted of the felony charge. Although police and prosecutors suspected the client was impaired at the time of the accident, they could not prove an OWI. Understanding our client's needs, as well as the prosecution's desires, Attorney Verhoff worked out a creative solution to the case. Aware that the government would like to get an OWI conviction out of the case, he proposed the client enter a plea and be convicted of a non-criminal first offense drunken driving and in exchange he asked the prosecution to amend the case from a felony causing great bodily harm to a misdemeanor hit and run that did not include injury. Spared the a felony conviction, as well as a prolonged license revocation, the client was very satisfied with the outcome.