Not necessarily. While in civil cases it is usually possible for an attorney to represent 2 defendants, it is not generally seen as possible to do so in a criminal case because of potential conflicts of interest.
GOOD STUFF. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/12/balloon.boy.charges/index.html Lawyer: 'Balloon boy' parents to plead guilty to hoax-related charges November 12, 2009 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT) (CNN) -- The Colorado parents in last month's notorious "balloon boy" case will plead guilty to offenses for creating a hoax that their son had flown away in a large balloon. Richard and Mayumi Heene are to plead Friday morning in Larimer County Court, according to a statement issued by Richard Heene's attorney. Mayumi Heene is expected to plead guilty to an offense of false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor of the lowest level, according to the attorney. Richard Heene is expected to plead guilty to a felony offense of attempting to influence a public servant. Though the Heenes could receive jail time for the charges, the prosecutor has recommended probation, Richard Heene's attorney said. The threat of deportation for Mayumi Heene was a factor in the plea deal negotiation, the attorney's statement said. "Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan. As such, any felony conviction or certain misdemeanors would result in her deportation, even though her husband and children are Americans," the statement said. "It is supremely ironic that law enforcement has expressed such grave concern over the welfare of the children, but it was ultimately the threat of taking the children's mother from the family and deporting her to Japan which fueled this deal." Prosecutors in the case could not be immediately reached for comment. On October 16, a large silver balloon came loose from moorings in the Heenes' yard and floated over Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple's 6-year-old son Falcon was inside the craft. Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it on the ground. Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said. Watch the moment the hoax was revealed Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax." Their motive? To "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said.
Hopefully they don't get a book/movie/TV deal out of any of this so there is no incentive whatsoever for people to pull this crap again for any reason.
Balloon boy parents get jail time, tough probation FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The parents who carried out the balloon boy hoax were sentenced to jail Wednesday and given strict probation conditions that forbid them from earning any money from the spectacle for four years. Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail, including 60 days of work release that will let him pursue his job as a construction contractor while serving his time. His wife, Mayumi, was sentenced to 20 days in jail. Richard Heene choked back tears as he said he was sorry, especially to the rescue workers who chased down false reports that his 6-year-old son had floated away in a balloon on Oct. 15. It was a stunt designed to generate attention for a reality TV show. "I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry. And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community. That's it," said Richard Heene, whose wife did not speak at the hearing. Larimer County District Judge Stephen Schapanski then ordered Heene to begin a 30-day jail term on Jan. 11, delaying the start of the sentence for two weeks so he can spend the holidays with his family. Schapanski allowed Heene to serve the remaining 60 days of his jail term under work release, meaning he can work during the day but spend his nights in jail. The Heenes' probation will be revoked if they are found to be profiting from any book, TV, movie or other deals related to the stunt. "This, in simple terms, was an elaborate hoax that was devised by Mr. and Mrs. Heene," the judge said. The Heenes pleaded guilty to charges that they carried out the balloon hoax, with deals that called for up to 90 days in jail for the husband and 60 days for his wife. Schapanski ordered Mayumi Heene to serve 20 days in jail after her husband completes his sentence. Her time served is flexible — she can report to jail on 10 weekends, for example — so the children are cared for, the judge said. Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence for the husband, saying that a message needs to be sent to promoters who attempt to carry out hoaxes to generate publicity. Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lewis also asked for full restitution to reimburse authorities for the cost of investigating the hoax — an amount that could exceed $50,000. "People around the world were watching this unfold," he said. "Mr. Heene wasted a lot of manpower and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity." He added, "Jay Leno said it best when he said, 'This is copycat game.' And people will copycat this event. (The Heenes) need to go to jail so people don't do that." He portrayed the Heenes as growing increasingly desperate as their pitches for a reality TV show kept getting turned down by networks — and the family fell deeper into a financial hole. Lewis said the Heenes set in motion the balloon hoax in early October as a way to jumpstart the effort and get some attention. They chose Oct. 15 because the weather was cooperating and the kids were home for school with parent-teacher conferences, allowing the Heenes to report that 6-year-old Falcon had floated away, Lewis said. Once the parents were brought in for questioning, Richard Heene feigned sleep during the lie-detector test, claiming it was some sort of diabetic episode, Lewis said. David Lane, Richard Heene's attorney, pleaded for leniency with the judge and said that the couple "have learned a lesson they will never forget for the rest of their lives." He also said that if someone has to go to jail, let it be Richard Heene and not his wife. "That is his plea. That would be something of a Christmas miracle if that can occur," he said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_balloon_boy
If I was hungry and stole a bag of groceries . . . I'd probably get more time. And I did waste nearly as many resources. Trifling people. . . got a trifling sentence Rocket River
This is the first time hearing about this story for me and I just read the first page and last page here. I feel sorry for the parents. Not only was their Falcon in mortal danger flying 2000 feet in the sky, but now his parents go to jail for their negligence? What a messed up country we live in. I guess parents of children who get kidnapped should also worry now.
RR is right read more pages. As a holiday favor I will save you the trouble. Kid was never in danger. He was never in the balloon. It was a hoax because the parents were trying to get their own tv show. It was all set up to make them look like good tv material. They were charged with making a false report and other things, not letting their kids be in danger.
Don't forget to read the part where Obama sends rescue copters only to have the balloon fly away them as they get closer.
HTML: http://www.amazon.com/Blunder-Smart-People-Make-Decisions/dp/B002VPE7TW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261623376&sr=8-2
They're back and nuttier then ever http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/06/us/balloon-boy-heene-family-where-now/index.html
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