You could really see that this young man hadn't received good instruction from his elders

Oh, I can relate. I see that all the time myself. It's no wonder that he has such poor judgement coming out of that environment. It's very frustrating dealing with that kind of ignorance.

I hope you're able to de-stress and enjoy the rest of your evening, Joann

WOW! So how did that end? Was a decision made?

It's a different class of people....their expectations are low and are met every time.

My sister dated a guy all the way through law school, when he graduated as a .....you guessed it....criminal lawyer....he decided to keep working at the nursery. :0)

That is really sad Joann. You try to give him the best defense and it seems he and his aunt are just not smart enough (or educated enough) to recognize it. I really hope he followed your advice - The D.A was offering a good deal.

Pretty amazing that he did not realize that he was being charged with a felony and/or what that means.
It is really scary that he thought that breaking and entering was OK, as long as you knew the victim.
So... how did this turn out?

Sounds like his mother could be my sister. And the young man, her grandson.
You have a very difficult job.....and I am glad you can come here and vent.
There are no easy answers......

He eventually took the prosecutor's offer.

I deal with this all the time, but generally there's *someone* in the family who gets it and helps me to hammer home what the client did wrong.

I'm glad he took the offer, he's lucky he had you working for him!

I'm glad he took the offer but I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the system. Next time as an adult probably. He isn't learning any boundaries at home and it will carry over until he gets some real time. He'll learn about boundaries inside and hopefully come out a better man but the rest of his life will be tough.

I had a back fence neighbor like that. Warned his mother and she just got all huffy. Fast forward 10 years and she admitted I'd been right. He did some federal time and cleaned up his act. She said she felt it was the best thing that happened to him. Said better he had a record than a headstone. She was sorry for her blinders.

I'm guessing that part of the problem is that the words "criminal record" have no meaning for these folks. What they probably don't realize is that these days, almost every potential employer runs a background check before hiring anyone. This is much more common today than it was even 20 years ago, much less 30 or 40 years ago which may be the aunt's experience.

What I'm wondering is why the aunt was there instead of his parent(s).

A thought goes through my mind when I hear about people who just 'don't get it'. Common sense can be explained to some people and they just sit there with a blank look on their face....I picture a brick wall in their heads, and no matter how well or much you explain to them, it just cant penetrate or get over that brick wall. Sad, and I'm glad this young man had you to advise him, and I Hope he GOT it

Whew, I'm glad he took it. Not everyone gets a second chance. I hope he makes the best of it. I imagine dealing with this day in and day out is incredibly wearing. I get frustrated with someof the situations I have at work (Yesterday I was grumbling to myself: "READ your e-mails, people!") but the stakes are much lower.

I work with this every day too Joann, so I am sending out some extra special thoughts for you. Thanks for being a great attorney!!....oh, and a Texas sized hug!

Our DIL teaches 8th grade math in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago -- poor in every sense of the term. MANY of the *guardians* of her students (few have parents in their lives) are drop-outs. Few people in the area have ever been more than a few blocks from their neighborhood.

It's Ingrained Ignorance -- generations of it. DIL counts it a success if two or three of her students 'get it' and can visualize a better life outside the ghetto. Gangs run wild. Children are beaten, shot and killed daily. School is the only safe place, and for some it's the only place they get fed.

This is self-perpetuating. It's why I think we would all be happier, safer and richer if we offered these children taxpayer funded boarding schools. We wouldn't pay to encarcerate as many people, nor pay child welfare checks to mothers and guardians who spend the money on crack.

criminal records mean nothing to people anymore because sooo many have them and acccept those people in their lives. of course this economy will help weed them out of society quick LOL who is going to hire a criminal when there are thousands of better people out there. i had a co-worker who's BF was a convicted thief and crack head, he was not welcome at my house or any social event my co-worker attended. she accepted him the way he is and she was ostracized for it by everyone at work, her choice. the sooner we rid the gene pool of criminals the better off our society will be. ~liz