Law enforcement suspected our client of being a drug dealer. In a coordinated effort that included authorities from the State Department of Criminal Investigation, police targeted the client with a plan to arrest him and search his vehicle. Police followed him in his car and waited for him to violate a traffic law. Authorities ultimately stopped him for speeding, searched his vehicle and found several jars filled with more than 100 grams of marijuana. Prosecutors filed a criminal drug charge against the client. In a negotiated resolution, Attorney Tim Verhoff brokered a deal in which the client entered a plea to the misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana. The judge ordered him to complete 32 community service hours, but authorized the expungement of the case upon the client's completion of the community service and payment of court costs.
MDMA Conspiracy Expunged, Dane County
After receiving information from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol about a suspicious package destined for Madison from JFK International Airport, local law enforcement set up a drug sting. Through the investigation, law enforcement determined that 262 grams of MDMA was being mailed to a home in Madison from a location in Slovenia. Our client, who lives more than 100 miles away from Madison, was arrested in the sting after the Madison homeowner who received the package contacted him and asked him to come to retrieve the package delivered to her home. The Dane County District Attorney's Office initially charged our client with conspiracy to deliver designer drugs, a Class C Felony, carrying a penalty of up to 40 years in prison. Our Attorney, Tim Verhoff, worked the case and was able to convince the prosecutor to amend the charge to a substantially lesser offense that could be expunged. The case was resolved short of trial with the judge approving an agreement for an expunction of the case upon the client's successful completion of a probationary period. Needless to say, the client, who had no prior criminal record, was quite relieved to get a second chance at a clean record.
Felony Charge of Maintaining A Drug Dwelling Dismissed
Our client and his housemates were charged with maintaining a drug trafficking dwelling in Rock County after law enforcement raided their home. Our attorneys reviewed the search warrant and found problems with certain aspects that allowed us to file a motion to challenge the validity of the warrant. In speaking with prosecutors in advance of the hearing on the motion to challenge the search warrant, the prosecution made an offer to dismiss the felony and have the client plead to a simple possession of marijuana with expungement of the case after one year of probation. The client, who accepted this offer, was very pleased with the outcome.
Felony Sexual Assault Reduced to Misdemeanor With Expungement
When our client received a summons to court for charges alleging repeated acts of sexual assault of a child, he went into panic mode. Although the client was in his early twenties, the Dane County District Attorney's Office charged him for several acts that occurred when he was approximately 14 years old. The family hired our firm before making an initial court appearance. Attorney Verhoff contacted the District Attorney and requested a meeting at which he suggested that had the case been filed at the time of the offense, the client would have been treated as a juvenile. Attorney Verhoff proposed a postponement of the case to give the client time to undergo various evaluations and treatment to demonstrate he was not a high risk to re-offend. Assuming that checked out, Attorney Verhoff proposed amending the charge from a felony offense to a misdemeanor that could be expunged from his record. As Attorney Verhoff argued, this would be an outcome that very much mirrored what would have happen in juvenile court if the client had been charged at that time in his life. The District Attorney agreed to the proposal. At the plea hearing, the judge was at first taken aback by the proposed outcome in this case. But once Attorney Verhoff explained it thoroughly, she said she was very comfortable with the outcome and accepted the agreement in full. This case is an excellent example of our firm thinking outside the box to resolve cases favorably for clients.
Client Avoids Felony Charges, Gets Expunction in Dane County
At Chirafisi & Verhoff, we often say some of the best work we can do for a client happens long before criminal charges are filed. This case is an excellent illustration of that motto. Our client, a young man with a bright future and no criminal record, was driving his friends when he got into a crash. By his own statements to police, he was traveling approximately 30 miles per hour over the speed limit and attempted to pass another vehicle in a no passing zone when the crash occurred. The client was significantly injured, as well as his two passengers. The family hired our firm before charges were ever issued. Attorney Verhoff immediately recognized that the injuries suffered by the client's passengers would make this a felony-level case. Through pre-charging negotiations, Attorney Verhoff brokered a deal by which the District Attorney's Office agreed to file only misdemeanor charges. But that was not all. Attorney Verhoff was also able to get the prosecutor to make an agreement to have client placed on a one-year period of probation with no jail time. But that was not all. The agreement also included a provision that the case would be expunged from the client's record upon successful completion of probation.