I was on probation for a burglary and got arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, a bottle, in a fight in a bar. I was acting in self-defense, but my lawyer wants me to take a deal that will put me back in jail. What gives?
You are no doubt facing two cases now: the new assault charge and a motion to revoke your probation. You should understand that just being found not guilty of the assault with a beer bottle will not solve your problem on the probation violation. Two factors control this situation: the burden of proof on the prosecutor to prove the probation violation is much easier than to prove the assault charge; and the violation of probation includes a much wider range of conduct than merely getting convicted of a new crime. Your lawyer may be of the opinion that you will be proved to have harmed yourself unnecessarily, or that you were the first aggressor, or that you could easily have walked away without getting into a fight at all. If so, you will lose the violation of probation motion, even if found not guilty of the new crime charged.
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