Things That Help — and Hurt — Your Pending Criminal Case
Your case isn't only decided in the courtroom. What you do between arrest and resolution can move the outcome more than you'd believe — in both directions.
RememberPosting bond gets you out. Mike Kielty keeps you out.
Things That HELP
Treatment — started voluntarily and early. If alcohol or drugs are anywhere near your case, enrolling in AA, NA, SATOP, or formal treatment before a judge orders it is one of the most powerful moves available. It reframes you from "defendant" to "person already fixing the problem," and judges and prosecutors genuinely weigh it.
Showing up — every time, early, dressed right. Be 30 minutes early to every court date. Dress like it's a job interview: collared shirt, slacks, modest and clean. Judges form impressions in seconds, and the person in a wrinkled t-shirt slipping in late starts every hearing in a hole.
Steady work and clean living. Keep your job or get one. Stay arrest-free. Document community involvement. Sentencing day, these facts become your lawyer's ammunition.
Doing exactly what your bond paperwork says. Check in, stay in the area, follow no-contact terms to the letter.
Total honesty with Mike — and total silence with everyone else.
Things That HURT
Missing court. A failure to appear means a warrant, a forfeited bond, a new charge, and a judge who now trusts nothing you say. If a true emergency hits, call Mike before the court date, not after.
New arrests. Nothing damages a pending case faster. The State will use it to revoke bond and harden every offer.
Social media. Prosecutors read it. The party photos, the venting about your accuser, the tough-guy post — all of it becomes Exhibit A. Go quiet online until the case is over.
Contacting witnesses or the alleged victim. Even friendly contact can become a witness-tampering charge or a bond violation. All communication goes through Mike.
Talking about your case — on jail phones (recorded), to cellmates (motivated informants), to friends (future witnesses).
Failed drug tests while on bond — including marijuana, which remains a bond violation when a judge has ordered you clean, legal or not.
Every case is different, and the right moves in yours start with a conversation: 636.940.7771, any time.
