Adam Stone, principal of The Stone Law Firm, Ltd. based in Ohio, is already having a successful new year. The criminal defense attorney secured two not guilty verdicts at trial for clients who were staring down severe penalties if convicted.
The first case – State v. Charles Pryer, Wyandot County – began when Pryer was arrested and charged with fourth-degree felony criminal trespass. Although trespassing is a property crime generally associated with limited penalties, this particular charge could have sentenced the defendant to 18 months in prison if convicted. Stone felt the prosecution did not have an impressive case against his client, and took the case to trial. After just over an hour of deliberation, the jury announced they had found him not guilty of felony criminal trespassing and the lesser included misdemeanor form of criminal trespass
The second case – State v. Cristian Brown, Seneca County – also had considerably high stakes. The defendant had been charged with murder, and his future was immediately uncertain. The Stone Law Firm, LTD approached the juvenile bindover situation delicately, knowing that a single wrong word in an ongoing murder case could spell disaster for the defendant. Brown maintained his innocence during the several months used to try to negotiate the case. When the case was finally taken to trial, it only lasted a day; the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, exonerating the defendant, who was staring down a harrowing set of consequences if he had been convicted.