its not federal its just misdemeanor charges.

Don't take this the wrong way, did you commit a crime ? Yes. did you know it was illegal ? no. Does it matter? No . Do the crime / do the time and move on , learn from the mistake . It doesn't matter if it's baby turtles or selling stolen prop that you didn't know it was stolen . Do you have kids? If so thing about the example you will be setting by trying the "Schuck n jive" around the law or you could choose to set an example and make it a positive learning experience . Just my $0.02

not yet . feds have two years to file . why i posted this earlier.
I would plead guilty and pay my fines and hope that it ends there.

Being guilty doesn't mean you should automatically plead guilty. A lot of times legal counsel will plead not guilty just to give more time to work on a remedy. You need to find out who was assigned to you as your public defender ASAP. The court clerk should be able to tell you that (your case or ticket number might help so keep that handy). Set a time with your defender ASAP and tell him your side. Your vigilance could be the difference in the low end of fines and the upper end. With 4 counts that could be a huge gap. You never know, maybe they'll drop it down to only 1 count if you have no priors.

One thing you need to know about public defenders is that these guys are usually just starting out and are taking on a huge case load of people they've never seen or talked to. It's your job to make yourself available to him. He's not going to seek you out to help you. Many PD's don't meet their clients until court. If you want the best case scenario you cannot let this be you.

Finding your PD and getting in his office is priority #1. After that, it won't hurt to see what prosecutor is assigned your case. He isn't required to speak to you and may not but it certainly won't hurt. Just make sure you go to lawyer first. Many PDs have relationships with the prosecutors being that they see each other regularly.

Best of luck. Be very vigilant to protect your interest. Being guilty doesn't mean you have to bend over a chair and let courts do whatever they want.

why is everyone assuming this guy is poor and qualifies for a public defender?

if he has a job then he doesn't qualify for a public defender.

that's why it is said when they read you your rights "if you need a lawyer but cannot afford one, then one will be appointed to you"

the only time I am aware of that you get a PD automatically is in capital cases which this is certainly not one of those.

maybe you could sell a whooping crane or a couple of black bears on ebay to pay for your fine?

Because he was selling turtles from the ditch to make an extra buck.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Spit my damn beer out when I read this!

No advice for you OP, but I wish you the best of luck. Sounds like a BS law in my opinion. All that freaking drama over some damn turtles.

kinda my thought. I mean the legal system essentially is there to punish and teach a lesson to prevent repeat offenders. well lesson has been learned and was learned long before I ever received the tickets. Now hopefully I dont have to go empty my bank account to prove that I learned a lesson

Plea not guilty, they will try to get you to do a pre trial deal, which would probably cost you the same fees as if you were found guilty. but what ever happens make sure that you can get the charges expunged so that there not on your record for future job requirements.

I asked my mother in law who works for the DA in Lake Charles, and mt next door neighbor who is an attorney. They both said the same thing. If you cannot get someone at the DA's office to talk to you. You should contact a criminal attorney. Some do not chare for the first consultation. Explain to them the situation they will let you know the minimum and maximum you could be looking at and advise you from there. If it is severe enough and you choose for them to represent you, on your court date they will be there and will have touched base with the ADA before your appearance and will tell you everything the State will seek and what they will agree to if you plea one way or the other. It is normally better to allow them to make the best deal possible for you and plea guilty. They can better advise you on which way to proceed and how it will affect your record. If you walk in blind you will have no options once the judge has ruled if you plea guilty.

If it were me I would want to know for certain what I am facing from the State before I entered any type of plea deal. They could pull your hunting and fishing rights, community service, hefty fines, probation, the list could go on so I would definitely want to know all of my options and an attorney is your best option for finding that out. That was both of their advice.

Lawyer up. You were ignorant once when you sold the turtles. Don't be ignorant the second time when you stand before the judge and say "guilty". Gov't went through enough trouble to catch you in a sting by a undercover agent, think they won't try to make an example out of you?

As a cop that had to get his record expunged to go to the academy (long story) I would offer this advice to you. Don't plead "guilty" at arraignment, then get a public defender to represent you (that's what they are there for). This is not the crime of the century and you made a mistake. Let it work out through the system for a few letters going back and forth and I would plead "no contest" with an Article 894. No convictions for a set amount of time and record is cleared. Time consuming - YES. Pain in the rear -YES. Bid deal - NO.

Good luck!

THIS^^^

I won't go to court over a speeding ticket without an attorney present on my behalf these days! They make a living in that room by taking yours!:work:

So do the lawyers.

Hire an attorney and he or she will meet with the da and tell them your side of the story to work out a deal, pay your fine, case closed, not a big deal.

I may be mistaken but if its in parish court as a misdemeanor you may be able to call and see how much the fine is and just pay and be done with it....My nephew recently got sighted in terrobonne parish and called the courthouse to find out how much the fine was and paid and it was done...

It was but they wouldn't do that. They made me go to court.

so you already went to court? what happened?

..........any other "game" crimes? ever?.........if none...you might reach out to your area Hunters Against Poachers ......they are usually the ones behing pushing game crimes to be seen in court...

it's part of the shame game, but I would be hard pressed to beleive they would feel the same about a few turtles......but I could be wrong