No indictment + No judgment equals No lawful confinement
Sponsor someone toward freedom.
Without One Plea works with more than 300 people who are still in prison. Sponsorship funds the work that documents what their records are missing and moves each case toward release.
Book a sponsor callOr reach us at info@withoutoneplea.org · (209) 727-7563
Two documents the law requires. Neither is in the record.
The cost of unlawful confinement is measured in years of a person’s life.
Below, Without One Plea’s reading of what California law requires is set beside what the court record shows, for the indictment and the judgment.
| Indictment | |
|---|---|
| Required to prosecute | What the record shows |
| A grand jury indictment, then arrest | Felony complaint, then arrest |
| Pleading to the indictment: six pleas available PC § 1016 | Pleading to a felony complaint: none available PC § 1016 |
| The court then has authority | The court lacks authority |
| Judgment Basis: Penal Code §§1202a, 1207, 1213 | |
| Required to incarcerate | What the record shows |
| Judgment of conviction | No judgment |
| The Sheriff transfers person & judgment to CDCR | No judgment |
The defect is in the State’s own records.
From defect to claim
Without One Plea documents the defect from the State’s own records. The State then receives five months of formal notice: time to correct the error and release the client. If the State does not, that failure is what turns a defect into a claim.
The people behind the work.
-
Lonnie G. Schmidt
Without One Plea
-
Joshua Lang
Without One Plea
-
Joseph Anthony Virgilio, Esq.
The Justice Firm
-
Benemerito Law
General counsel
Sponsor a case.
Full program details are shared in a private conversation.