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For Immediate Distribution.
Richard L. Duquette, Esq.
THE LAW FIRM OR RICHARD L. DUQUETTE
Oceanside, California
Richard Duquette, Esq. will be holding another FREE joint Mountain Bike defense meeting this Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 3 pm in his Oceanside, California office. This will be the final organizational meeting to discuss defense of the Miramar Marine Base ticketed Mountain Bikers.
He will be discussing issues raised and covered at last night's SDMBA meeting, like getting the confiscated bikes back. Mr. Duquette also has a retired Brigadier General on board to assist his legal team.
The attendees must bring their tickets to the meeting and sign a confidentiality agreement.
Mr. Duquette has 32 years' trial lawyering experience including defending Federal Misdemeanor & Felony court cases, as this may be helpful in the event the prosecution forces these cases to trial. (Walking into Federal court unrepresented or "hoping to find a middle ground" with good intentioned, with an inexperienced lawyer is NOT advisable).
As you can tell from last night's well attended and organized SDMBA meeting and the press today in the San Diego Union Tribune, the Marines are taking a hard line on bicyclists.
Despite making their "point" by issuing 45 Misdemeanor Citations, the Marines are currently refusing to release all the expensive Mountain bikes until after a court plea is finalized. Such an extorted plea would arguably violate the California Supreme Courts requirement that a plea be voluntary. In re Johnson (1965) 62 Cal 2nd 325; also see People v. Garcia (1979) 98 CA 3rd Supp 14.
As many of you know, last night, Duquette strongly urged the Marines to immediately release the expensive Mountain bikes, as they have NO current evidentiary value. By way of a fair solution, Duquette suggested the Marines simply take a picture of the bike & serial number to document the event, and most would agree to sign a stipulation as to the chain of custody. Obviously, the Marines are not going to cart 45 dirty Mountain bikes into court, when there is a less intrusive way to cooperate & build equitable relations with the community.
Duquette advises to immediately consult an experienced bicycling & criminal trial lawyer for advice. It's NOT a good idea to just "pay a fine, and plead guilty" in this case, as there are several potential legal defenses present. Moreover, a criminal conviction has a risk of 6 months' jail, fines & future job, student loan, base access, sentry border pass consequences. By law, the United States Supreme Court Requires a plea be knowingly and intelligently made. Boykin v Alabama (1969) 395 US 238.
Last, there is no need to hold the Mountain Bikes for assurances the defendants will appear for court, as the citations include identification information.
Moreover, a failure to appear in court constitutes a new offense. Any argument to the contrary is a pretext.
If you would kindly forward this notice, that would help your fellow Mountain Bikers to understand their legal rights. For more information, please call Mr. Duquette at 760-730-0500 and see his website www.911law.com
