Forgery is a serious crime that can land a person behind bars for a significant amount of time. It is not uncommon for a person who is facing this or other fraud charges to feel uncertain about the next steps they should take. If you have found yourself in a situation in which you are facing these charges and you want assistance from a criminal defense attorney who can fight for your rights, then you should call the Chambers Law Firm at the following number: 714-760-4088.
In the meantime, continue reading to acquire additional information regarding this charge.
Possible Consequences of a Guilty Plea in a Case of Forgery
You can be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the particulars of the crime that you committed. In the event that the prosecution decides to treat it as a felony, you run the risk of being sentenced to a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years in a California state prison. In the future, having a conviction on your record can make it more challenging to find housing, a job, or to obtain professional certification.
There is a Wide Variety of False Documents
When most people think of the crime of forgery, they have a preconceived notion of what it entails, but the reality may be very different. You should first be aware of the fact that it is not necessary for you to have been successful in the forgery. It is also true that you can copy many items without breaching the law as long as your intention was not to cheat another person with the copy that you made.
Forgery can be committed in a number of different ways, including but not limited to the following: signing someone else’s name when they have not given you permission to do so; forging a seal on a “official” document; forging someone else’s handwriting; altering or otherwise falsifying any legal document (such as a Will or Deed); and any type of forgery or alteration of a document that has to do with money, property, or finances.
The many kinds of legal papers that can be relevant to a case like this are discussed at length in the California Penal Code, which contains a lot of specifics. In point of fact, they list over forty, some of which are as follows: checks, prescriptions, money orders, contracts, lottery tickets, property titles, wills, and real estate leases.
When It Comes to Defending Yourself Against a Charge of Forgery, You Primarily Have Two Options
The majority of the time, you will have two different defense strategies to choose from. To begin, we might be able to demonstrate that you did not actually falsify the paper. We could accomplish this by consulting with forensic typists or by assembling a group of other witnesses. The second course of action is to demonstrate that the conduct in question was carried out by you, but that you did so without the intention of cheating anyone out of anything.
If neither of those potential defense strategies is applicable to your situation, then your best alternative may be to try to negotiate the most favorable possible plea offer with the prosecuting attorney. At Chambers Law Firm, we have a significant amount of experience and are able to identify novel sentencing alternatives due to this experience. Call us at 714-760-4088 to speak to a criminal defense attorney today.
