State v. J.M. (Ramsey County 2018)

The client, who had already twice violated his probation for Possession of Child Pornography, was charged with several new counts of Possession of Child Pornography. There were no defenses available, and the state sentencing guidelines said he should serve a lengthy prison sentence. The prosecutor asked for 57 months. After extensive preparation with the client, I showed the sentencing judge that the client was thriving in therapy. I argued that he could be trusted to succeed on probation despite his record and his new convictions. It was a close call, but the judge ultimately agreed with my argument and placed the client back on probation.