One of the prerequisites to making a plea deal with prosecutors is that you cannot withdraw a plea after sentencing is made. It’s technically possible to try to appeal sentencing, especially if the judge gives a defendant a harsher sentence than is recommended by prosecutors, but from what I understand it can be difficult. In Teresa Giudice’s case, she got 15 months prison time after pleading guilty to 41 counts of federal fraud. Her husband, Joe Giudice, received 41 months. (Joe faces even more jail time on a separate charge of using his brother’s identity to fraudulently obtain a driver’s license. He plead guilty and has not yet been sentenced for that crime.)
Teresa has said that she didn’t read the plea carefully and that she didn’t realize she would actually go to jail. However prosecutors recommended 21 months and Teresa got just 15. She got a lighter sentence than was recommended, and yet she’s still lawyer shopping to see if she can appeal. Here’s part of the story, thanks to Radar Online:
Teresa Giudice has been spotted lawyer shopping all over the Tri-State area in hopes of getting her prison sentence overturned, as the reality star plans on filing legal documents this week to support her position.
“Teresa has been meeting with numerous lawyers since being sentenced in 15 months. She believes that more could have been done to persuade the judge to give her house arrest or probation,” a source tells RadarOnline.com exclusively. “Several lawyers that have met with Teresa have conveyed to her that under terms of the plea deal she signed, any appeal would automatically be rejected.”
But the reality star has apparently been told that an overturned prison sentence is wishful thinking!
“Teresa was advised that any lawyer telling her the judge would toss out the prison sentence isn’t being honest with her. Teresa plans on filing new financial disclosure forms, fully detailing her financial assets,” the source added.
The time for Teresa to actually declare her stolen assets has long since passed. In fact she probably would have received house arrest and probation had she actually read some documents and did her homework so she could stay out of jail. Instead, she let everyone else “handle” her finances and she avoided taking personal responsibility, the same way she and her husband stole millions in the first place. I believe that she thought she was above the law. She knew what was going on, she just felt entitled to the lifestyle.
Teresa and Joe still owe $214,588 in restitution to the court. They paid half of that amount recently, after they were sentenced. Maybe if they would have paid it prior to sentencing Teresa could have stayed home with her daughters. While the lack of restitution payment wasn’t the only thing that pissed off the judge, she said she took that into consideration.
Stupid is as stupid does. That is the saying, right?
Sorry but 15 months is not enough to wash off all layers of her fake tan. Jesus Christ she looks like black woman from neck down.
What a sociopath. She should have got 5 years.
Her face makes me rage.
*whine* “I don’t understand why I have to go to jail, I’m rich! well….I WAS rich…”
Grifter tw@t still trying to grift.
Time to really throw Joe under the bus! Imagine this dude as a single parent to daughters? AGH!
He can cheat all he wants with get in prison. Oh and I can and will never get past this women’s hair line. She really has no forehead. None, it’s not there.
Oh my sweet baby Jesus…I had never noticed the forehead hairline thing. I CAN’T STOP STARING AT IT.
And she tries to trick us by tucking the front 2 inches of hair away under her ears and starting her “part” in the place a normal hairline would begin. It’s an optical illusion! Hairline of lies!
Isn’t the reason she *claims* she got into this mess is because she wasn’t reading documents before signing them? Didn’t she just tell her Overlord Andy Cohen her big take away was to READ BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING? And you didn’t read your plea agreement that would determine if you’d go to jail or not??!? I can’t. I can’t with this woman.
Currently praying for the people who are praying for Teresa Giudice…
Whoa. I’m not used it reading whole paragraphs from you, Abbot. Wtf just happened here? Is this all your pent up AlaKlooney frustration manifesting in strange places? And while we are at it, can we collectively pray that Bey’s broom bangs shaglet makes a guest appearance on this upstanding lady’s visage?
Sorry! I’ve been practicing with my flashcards a lot lately.
There is currently no known explanation for her hairline. And with NASA’s hard on for Mars and the moon, we may never get to the bottom of it.
My understanding is that she entered what is called an open guilty plea, which basically means you just plead guilty without any promise of sentencing – basically, you throw yourself upon the mercy of the court. However, lawyer ethical rules mandate that any attorney must be honest with the client and tell them exactly how much time they could actually face.
Consider this: for one single count of what Joe and Theresa were charged with, the maximum sentence was 10 YEARS. And they were facing over 3 dozen counts. If the judge had been so inclined to give the max and run the sentences consecutively, the judge could have imposed an effective LIFE sentence on her. She received 15 months. That is a crazy low sentence for what she pled to. AND the judge permitted staggered sentences to address the childcare issue. And that still isn’t enough for her?
Plus the judge spent nearly 90 minutes back in March speaking with Teresa, going over the plea deal, asking her questions, to make damn sure she understood it, so she could not do this.
“Currently praying for the people who are praying for Teresa Giudice…”
HA! Now that made me burst out laughing.
Anyway, it’s mind boggling how deluded this woman is.
She should stop wasting her time trying to find a lawyer who will tell her what she wants to hear and spend what time she has left with her daughters.
This. Just accept your sentence and spend the time with your daughters and explain to them how you got into this mess. Teach them a lesson here. I don’t think she’s smart enough to realize that though.
This!
Yeah, good luck with that. Judges get an INSANE amount of discretion when it comes to sentencing, and getting a sentence overturned is usually a fool’s errand. She got LESS than what the prosecution recommended and far, far less than the maximum the judge could have chosen to impose (which would have been in the years of time). The sentence is well within the guidelines, the judge stated on the record her reasons for the sentence. That’s basically all you really need. Any half-decent lawyer will be honest with her and tell her so. She isn’t going to a hardcore state prison, for crying out loud. She’s heading a what will likely be a minimum security federal prison, which, while not fun, is a far cry from the experience most female convicts get. Take it on the chin and grow up.
Is it possible for the judge to give her even more time now, since she is fighting this? I would think that isn’t possible, but I am curious to know.
It’s not impossible but highly unlikely. You have a legal right to appeal your sentence without worrying about possible repercussions from the court, and the higher court (the court of appeals) would almost certainly overturn any additional time tacked on without a legitimate showing of just cause. And no judge likes to have their rulings overturned on appeal and pretty much do anything they can to avoid it.
Apparently she will be going to the federal prison which is nicknamed “Camp Cupcake” and is the same one Martha Stewart went to.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank her hairline for valiantly attempting to grow over her face so that we don’t have to look at it anymore.
Bahahaha…that’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. Thankyou. 🙂
******Best comment ever! I am having a stressful day and this made me lose it!!******
Lol KRI!
Years ago, I was close to someone who was sentenced to federal prison for a similar amount of time. I think what she’s going through is kind of normal. Even though she agreed to the plea deal, the actual cold reality of it didn’t really hit her until she got that sentence handed down to her. She’s still at the point where she thinks she can change it. Not gonna happen, honey. Learn about what to expect in prison, accept it, make any kind of plans you need to make, and then put it out of your head and try to enjoy the the next couple months with your family. You did the crime, now do the time. And I doubt she has much to worry about when she gets out, either. A ‘regular’ person would be devastated about what kind of life they’ll be able to make once they get out. I would be stunned if this chick isn’t right back on TV within a week of getting out. Disgusting.
She should be careful what she wishes for. She could get it overturned and get more time at the second sentencing. Wouldn’t that be poetic justice?
Yes!
Her dead eyes in those posed pictures make Kim Kardashian look as animated as Meryl Streep
The judge was nice enough to give her and her husband separate times to serve. They shouldn’t push it too far.
Of course this woman is so self-involved she doesn’t get she should have been given a longer sentence. I think there is something wrong in a Justice System that lets a woman like this off the hook for basically scamming millions of dollars. This woman is stuck on stupid and her own silly importance. Give her the max.
How is she planning on paying this new lawyer? Fabellini?
The $200 grand she paid wasn’t toward the restitution. It was money she was supposed to pay BEFORE her sentencing and was part of her plea deal, not her sentence. It’s in addition to the $400,000.
She looks like a female Neanderthal. Just weird those genes are still present in her system after centuries. Funny how she doesnt read anything but she knows a lot of gossip about everyone on the show she does not like.
This low life has learned nothing!!! What a POS dirt bag! I wish the judge could re-sentence her for more time!
Her face is terrifying.
I saw both parts 1 & 2 of the WWHL interview. Reading this article, it looks like the interview was a set up for what she was going to do and what her excuse would be regarding the sentencing. T&J blamed the accountant, the parole officer, and the lawyers.
She and Joe owe more than $200k. I think the total amount for both is $600k-$800k with Joe owing over $400k. I read on TMZ that the judge ordered that they separate their finances so that it won’t be Teresa’s money paying off Joe’s restitution.
Teresa told Andy that she didn’t know what the plea bargain was about regarding imprisonment. But Andy pushed her on it and then T&J admitted that if they knew that if they had gone to court & been convicted on even one of the 40-something counts, it could have been a 10-year sentence on just that one count.
The judge went out of her way to let T&J stay out of prison until after the holidays. T&J both acknowledged this in the WHHL interview. Teresa said the judge could have taken them that day if she wanted to. They also said they were grateful that the sentences were staggered so that one parent could stay home with the kids. But Teresa can’t leave good enough alone.
I think it’s today in which Joe offered up his guilty plea & is waiting for the sentencing to his ID theft in trying to get a fake driver’s license. I don’t know what the outcome is yet.