Matthew Wilson Attorney at Law

Yes, you can be convicted even if you are unaware you are committing a crime. There are some types of criminal offenses that require an individual to have actual "guilty knowledge" in order to be convicted - that is, the person must know what they are doing is illegal. Many fraud statutes, for example, require a person be aware that they are engaging in unlawful activity. However, the overwhelming majority of criminal offenses have no such requirement. For most crimes, guilt is based on an individual's voluntary conduct and "ignorance of the law" is not a defense.

The vast majority of cases do not go to trial. They are resolved via a plea agreement wherein the defendant admits guilt and takes responsibility, through a diversion agreement wherein a defendant may be able to maintain a clean record, or sometimes through a dismissal by the Government or the Court. If the parties cannot come to an agreement and the case is not dismissed, it will proceed to trial. I'd estimate that in the Superior Court in DC, approximately 10-15 percent of cases go to trial.

Ultimately, a sentence is determined by a judge. A judge will not - nor should they - punish a defendant with a harsher sentence simply because the defendant exercised their right to go to trial. However, during a trial, a judge may learn additional information about an incident that could influence his or her decision with respect to sentencing. Sometimes the Government will agree to dismiss certain charges or reduce a charge as part of a plea offer, lessening the potential sentence faced by the defendant in comparison to what they would face at a trial. So while declining a plea offer and going to trial will not directly lead to a "penalty" from a judge at sentencing, a defendant could nonetheless end up with a more severe sentence.

Criminal cases can vary greatly in length. Factors that impact the length of a case include the seriousness and complexity of the criminal charge(s), whether a case is resolved via a diversion agreement, a plea, or a trial, and if a defendant is incarcerated as they await the outcome of the case. A simple misdemeanor could be resolved in a couple of months. Other times, a case may take as long as a year or more from the time charges are filed to when it goes to trial. The majority of cases are resolved in about 3-6 months.