Hi
Jo,
I am going to contact you via PM. Mike
It would be okay to travel again in the US together with your visa.
Okay, yours was a long post--so mine is going to be little long to cover everything you posted here.
Understand that only lawyers are allowed to give legal advice in the US--so I'm just going to discuss the basics--not legal (criminal) procedure--or any special motions you should make, etc.
(1)The first thing you need to understand is that if you were arrested and asked to post bail, this means you were charged with a crime. Failure to show up for your trial will undoubtedly result in you being convicted--and this will then result in you never being allowed to enter the US again--since you fled rather than faced your prosecution.
(2) What are your options?--(a) You could return to face trial in November. Should you?--Well, that depends upon what you were charged with--and I notice you never actually mentioned what that was. Were you charged with resisting arrest? with criminal assault? with public intoxication? with assault and battery?
If you were charged with assault and battery, I'm not sure I would return and take the chance of actually being found guilty and having to serve a 30 to 90 day period in jail. If you were just charged with resisting arrest or public intoxication---and your husband is going to speak on your behalf, you can probably beat the charge, or get it reduced to something minor, where even if you are convicted, you would be given probation and allowed to go on your way. The fact that you returned to face the charge will very much work in your favor, by the way.
On the other hand, not returning to face the charges mean you forfeit your $3,000 bail automatically--in addition to having a "bench warrant" issued for your arrest. This means that coming back to the US will not only result in you being eventually deported--but may result in you first having to face trial, then in possibly going to jail, and then being deported.
(3) What about the costs?--Okay, you get your $3,000 back when you com back to face trial--however, getting a lawyer is not cheap. It will probably cost you about $3,000 to $4,500 (and possibly more) to hire a halfway decent lawyer that will argue your case--plus you will probably have to have first a hearing--and only then have a trial.
(4) What would I do?
First of all, I would contact and hire a US lawyer from the UK--and I would see if he/she could attend the hearing on your behalf without you having to appear--and/or contact the local district attorney to either have the case dropped or have the charges reduced. This is fairly common in the US--especially if you agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge. I would see if the lawyer could get the charge reduced to something really minor--like public intoxication--and have the DA and judge agree that you will be give a short probation period that could then be waived (meaning you wouldn't have to meet with any US probation officers). Then, I would come back to the US for the "trial"--which would then likely last less than 1 hour. Yes, this would cost you some additionally money for the lawyer--but you would have only a minor charge on your record--and you could come back to the US whenever you wish.
Last thing--I would avoid making a scene at a major casino like the Venetian--in fact, I would avoid ever going back to the Venetian--but instead spend my time at other LV casinos/hotels. These casinos think that anyone that is making a scene might be doing so in order to allow others to steal money from the customers--and distract them from other illegal things going on. Also, keep in mind that these are super-large corporations running these places--and these hotels cost billions to build--and have 20,000 other customers to please on a daily basis--so any kind of disturbance is a big deal to them;--something you've obviously learned the hard way.
Good luck with your situation.
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Jo, I have just come accross your post. This very same situation happened to myself and my husband although we walked into a row outside the flamingo hotel. Is there anyway I can private message you and I can share with you how we have got on up to now with this.
Jo, I have just come accross your post. This very same situation happened to myself and my husband although we walked into a row outside the flamingo hotel. Is there anyway I can private message you and I can share with you how we have got on up to now with this.
Click on jazzyjo's username (top of her post) and that will take you to her profile. There will be a big green box that says 'send message'. Click that to send a private mail.
Before you go to any great lengths and stress anymore I'd make that phone call they suggested to speak to an officer of the court.
Odds are they'll offer you a quick and easy way out of this (i.e. plead guilty to public intoxication) which would mean you'd never have to go to trial, or even come back to face the charge (odds are they'll either dismiss the charge, or offer you time served, or let you off with a warning) because they'd have to PROVE an assault charge, with no victim willing to testify and probably no witnesses.
They might have casino camera footage, but remember unless the hotel is willing to cooperate fully (and they don't want to alienate potential guests, and remember they deal with drunks all the time) they probably won't spend the money, nor will the Nevada prosecutor's office (it's all about removing serious problem people and about balancing money with justice) for a minor infraction like this.
If you are really worried you could volunteer to do AA or the like back home, which would show you are taking this seriously (but I'd volunteer this only if they are giving you a hard time about it).
Clearly they didn't think it was a big deal or they would have denied you bail as a flight risk since you were a foreign national. So you really have nothing to lose by contacting them. In fact, showing that responsibility could only count in your favor.
It will only cost you a phone call to find out. Then at least you'll know what you are dealing with.
Hope it all works out.
[ 22-Feb-2012, at 17:36 by DocNY ]
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