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Failure to Appear in Court May Increase Your Sentence

By Walin & Klarich

Skipping Trial Can Result in Worse Sentencing On October 27, 2008 the California Supreme Court upheld the 27 year sentence of a man accused of carjacking in California who was absent during the most critical stages of the trial. Ryan Conception escaped from custody, briefly enjoying his freedom several miles away from the court house until he was re-apprehended. While Conception was absent, the trial court permitted the prosecution and defense to make opening statements, and also allowed three key witnesses for the prosecution to testify. As the trial resulted in a 27 year sentence without Conception having the opportunity to confront his accusers, he desperately appealed the conviction, but to no avail. ?That [Conception] found himself detained in another location was, at that point, a circumstance of his own creation...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on December 11, 2008 (boomark / email).