Two felony charges against a Nichols Law Firm client were dismissed on December 23rd when a district judge ruled that police and prosecutors violated a traditional rule to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens. “The court’s adherence to the corpus delecti rule made me proud because the client had made a very damning confession,” said attorney Mike Nichols. “The problem is that the police thought that all that they needed was the defendant’s confession and they did absolutely nothing to find any independent proof of the crime,” Nichols added. The client was charged with two counts of filing a false report of a felony. The prosecuting attorney offered to allow her to plead guilty to a false report of a misdemeanor, which would reduce the conviction for the client to a misdemeanor. “However, because of that ‘false report’ aspect of the crime that our client could have pleaded guilty to, we could not accept the plea offer because of the impact on the client’s future career plans,” Nichols added. He said: “Plus, I felt that the situation and the circumstances warranted a plea agreement that was a little fairer for this client. As it turns out, the case was dismissed completely. That outcome makes me happy because we are committed to results.” |