In this Dane County case, the client was charged with stalking a woman with whom he had a previous relationship. Although he never made any threats to her or took any action toward her, he did repeatedly call her, text her, and often came to her residence. But our attorney had a very strong card to play, evidence that the complaining witness sent texts to our client in the weeks leading up to his arrest. Ultimately our attorneys brokered a deal with the prosecution in which the client agreed to plead to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. He also agreed to be supervised on probation for one year, but he was not required to serve any jail time.
Felony Stalking Case Reduced
In this case, our client was charged with stalking after he persistently contacted a woman over the course of several months. What made this case particularly difficult was that law enforcement had served the client with a stalking-warning letter, but he continued to call, text, and contact the woman via social media. And he admitted to police he had engaged in this conduct both before and after the warning letter was presented. The client, who had no prior record, was very concerned about a felony conviction. Through negotiations, Attorney Verhoff was able to convince the prosecution to amend the case to a misdemeanor charge for unlawful use of a computerized messaging system. The client was placed on probation but was not ordered to serve any jail time. Although the client was convicted of a criminal offense, the outcome was fantastic given the facts and circumstances.
Stalking charges dismissed prior to trial (Dane County)
When people think about stalking charges many times they picture a person hiding in the bushes ready to cause harm to someone else. This case our client, who was a former client was charged with Stalking a friend of his.
The prosecution thought they had a good case, offering “no prison” if the client entered a plea. That was not going to happen. The case began to unravel for the government at the preliminary hearing. By the end of that hearing the trial court was unsure whether to even find probable cause to bind the matter over for trial. Once the prosecution saw that the judge was struggling to find probable cause, the flood gates opened.
Chirafisi and Verhoff were able to file motions not only challenging bindover of the preliminary hearing but made an “as applied” challenge to the constitutionality of the stalking statute.
There was no need for a hearing in this case. After the motions were filed, the government realized that the matter should never have been brought in the first place and dismissed the case just prior to the motions being heard. The client, who has very good job, would have certainly lost that job if he had been convicted. Our client could not have been happier with the results.