Pretrial
Pretrial occurs after a Defendant pleads “Not Guilty” at Arraignment. This meeting occurs before trial action occurs and aims to resolve some of the issues in your case before you go to trial. If a deal is met, this is the ending of your case. At Pretrial, Mark meets with a prosecutor to discuss any possible plea deals. If an agreement is struck on an acceptable plea deal, you would then enter a guilty plea consistent with the terms of the plea deal. Having a lawyer at this stage in your case is essential to ensure that effective negotiation takes place during the conference with the prosecutor. This could result in a plea to a lesser crime, like turning a felony charge into a misdemeanor, which can eliminate prison time. An attorney can also fight for you so that you serve no jail time, only probation.
Mark is aggressive and compassionate in and out of the courtroom. He is equipped with the most up-to-date, contemporary trial strategies and knows whether it is best to plea or head to trial.
Final Settlement Conference
At the Final Settlement Conference, or FSC, the judge, prosecutor, and your lawyer meet to discuss and final plea proposals. If an acceptable plea deal is struck, it is entered here. If no plea bargain is met, Trial proceedings are discussed. This means a resolution short of trial is not possible and a jury will be selected to hear your case and decide your guilt or innocence.
Trial
Trial can often be a complex situation, but is simpler to understand than most legal proceedings. When a defendant is fighting for their innocence or believes the prosecutor will not be able to prove them guilty beyond reasonable doubt, they enter trial. A jury hears some trials but other cases only appear in front of a judge, these people determine the verdict, which is whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. These decisions are made based off of case evidence presented by your attorney.
Mark has dealt with countless trials successfully and effectively. Many testimonials, including the ones below show Mark’s victories no matter how complicated the case. As a trial attorney Mark uses the cutting edge trial strategies employed by skilled and experienced trial lawyers like speaking narratively to relay facts of your case to the jury in the most effectively, jury selection designed to let jurors speak in order to make them more receptive to the facts that support your innocence, effective cross examination of witnesses so jurors can understand what happened in your case and why the acquittal is the correct verdict, and using technology in the courtroom. Mark is trained to use audiovisual presentation to review evidence sufficiently and persuasively.
“Thankfully, as a result of Mark’s help, my son is not a convicted felon.”
“Attorney Mark Gatesman saved me from serving prison time when no one else believed me.”
Attorney Mark Gatesman told me he could beat my charge. The Prosecutor tried to get me to plea repeatedly, but Mark was able to the get the case completely dismissed.