Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

An elderly criminal defendant who commits a crime is in an especially difficult position. What does the criminal justice system do with a defendant who has violated the law but who is of an age where it makes no sense to put him in jail? An elderly defendant can be someone who kills their aged and desperately ill spouse, acts out because of conflicting medications and a diminished mental state or perhaps someone who has committed an economic crime in an effort to make ends meet when he is on a fixed income.

Recent examples in the court system point out the difficulties in representing defendants who are elderly. In an economic crime like Worker's Compensation Fraud an elderly defendant might continue to work after getting injured on the job simply to ensure that he is able to pay the bills. Of course, it is illegal to work without reporting that fact while receiving Worker's Compensation benefits. This is because those benefits are based on the theory that the defendant isn't working.

However, Worker's Compensation benefits rarely allow the recipient to pay his bills. Many times young and old alike are tempted to work even though they are not supposed to while getting Worker's Compensation benefits. If one gets benefits, those benefits will be cut or even terminated if the defendant goes back to work. If an elderly defendant is working to supplement his income and gets hurt he may be unable to even pay for his medicine and necessities of life.

Another situation can arise when an elderly person commits a violent crime which is completely out of character. Someone who is elderly and doesn't have any prior record of any crime suddenly acts out in a violent fashion. He could have killed or attacked a roommate or family member. What does the criminal justice system do with these individuals?

A skilled criminal defense attorney will first and foremost handle the criminal defendant as an individual, working all of that individual's personal traits to his benefit. In the Worker's Compensation case, the motivation behind the misrepresentation may be that a spouse is ill, he has been injured and unable to work full time, and he is not well himself. Once the elderly can't make ends meet after a lifetime of honest hard work it is devastating to be at the mercy of the government. One may violate the law after a lifetime of honesty. The motivation behind the criminal conduct isn't greed. It can and must be explained as poor judgment by someone who felt all hope was gone.

With a violent outburst by an elderly defendant the motivation is also critical to the analysis. Violence may not be anything other than involuntary. Medications, senility, and dementia can all contribute to the cause of the violence. What good can come from putting a mentally diminished elder or an Alzheimer's patient behind bars? The answer to the question is obvious.

An elderly defendant needs to be represented with care and compassion for his circumstances. It isn't just the charge or charges that govern the outcome. Even elder clients charged with murder can find the criminal justice system isn't without compassion as long as he finds the right representation.

When an employee gets accused of taking money, merchandise, products, or writing checks without permission from his employer it almost always costs the employee his or her job. Often times the employer will call in law enforcement to back up the claim of theft. Why? Many times it is in the employer's interest to have the theft investigated and prosecuted by the District Attorney.

The employer may have insurance which will reimburse the employer for losses caused by employee theft. If embezzlement or theft charges are filed, the District Attorney will, by the very filing of charges, protect the employer from allegations by the employee that he or she was wrongfully discharged or fired.

For example, if the worker is preparing to file a sexual harassment charge against the employer what better way to prevent the sexual allegations from being found to be true than to claim the employee stole from the company? The fact that the theft claim is made first puts the employee on the defensive and makes the sexual harassment allegations appear as merely retaliatory for the employer's claims of theft. This is just one example of how the employer might wrongfully accuse a worker in an effort to protect himself from allegations of wrongdoing.

Many instances of false claims of embezzlement arise out of the practices of the employer. For example, businesses often want their employees to take work home and finish it on their own time without compensation. In order to accomplish the work the employee may take the business computer home with them. The employee may even keep the computer (lap top or otherwise) at home in order to work on the business of the employer at home.

Even if compensated for the work at home, when the unwritten business practice is to let the employee take the item, whatever it is, home, when the employer wants to terminate the employee a convenient excuse is theft of the item(s) taken to the employee's home. If the employee has used the computer for personal matters as well as business, the employee can look guilty even though originally the item was taken with either explicit permission or at the very least implicit agreement of the employer. It's only when things sour between the employer and employee that it becomes a "problem".

An employee accused of embezzlement or theft must try and document all aspects of the permission to take any items or funds. This can be done by talking to co-workers and having them corroborate the permission given. Also, emails and other written memorandum should be preserved in order to prove that the employer was aware of the employee's actions and agreed to them prior to the time the employer looked for an excuse to terminate the employee.

An experienced criminal defense attorney can assist you in this regard. The hiring of an attorney at the earliest stages of the investigation can prevent a criminal filing. The best advice I can give is hire your defense attorney right away and follow his guidance because you very quickly find he can be your only friend when you are in trouble.