The Wilmington Public Defender has asked you to review the case file in State v. McAlister
to advise him via memo whether he should advise the client, Jose McAlister, to accept a guilty plea offer from the prosecution. The state charged Jose with: murder in the 2nd degree, with up to life imprisonment; possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, with up to 30 years’ incarceration; possession of child pornography, with up to 2 years’ incarceration; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, with a mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years’ incarceration. The plea offer is to plead guilty to possession of cocaine, with a sentence of 8 years’ concurrent incarceration; possession of child pornography, with 5 years’ concurrent incarceration; possession of the firearm, with 5 years' consecutive incarceration, and voluntary manslaughter, with 30 years’ consecutive incarceration. The prosecutor is coming up for election and wants a victory against gangbangers to help his campaign. The plea offer won’t get any better, especially since he said his office won’t pursue any other crimes arising from the facts in the casefile if Jose takes the deal. The plea offer ends by the end of next week, and the Public Defender wants the memo in his inbox ASAP.
You remember you’ve kept your textbook from CRJ 411 and bring it to your desk with the case file. Memories of constitutional rights and privileges, investigatory procedures, scientific evidence, and rules of evidence and testimony flood your mind. You sigh as you recognize the plight of the public defender: you work in the best interests of the client, who is almost always unhappy with the outcome regardless of how sweet it is. Nonetheless, it’s likely that Jose is going to file a complaint with the bar association unless he is acquitted. Plus, budget cuts are looming, and your job may be cut unless you show the boss you’re a star. Good thing you've always enjoyed puzzles.