If you are reading this, someone you love is in CDCR custody and something about their case does not feel right. You are probably right to trust that instinct. In California, the authority the law requires to prosecute and imprison are missing from a large share of felony cases — and most families never find out because no one tells them where to look.
Without One Plea helps families verify whether the records required by the California Constitution and Penal Code actually exist in their loved one's case. Where they do not, WOP documents the defect, identifies the public officials responsible, and pursues civil accountability through certified demand notices and commercial liens filed with the California Secretary of State.
WOP is not a law firm. What we provide is the research, the documentation, and a structured path of disclosure— so you can stop guessing whether something is wrong and start finding out what the record actually says. And what to do about it.
Why Families and Friends Reach Out
You already suspect something is wrong. You have probably been told by everyone official that it isn't — that the paperwork is fine, the conviction is valid, and the sentence is what it is. The system is built to make you stop asking. Most families do.
The question worth asking is not whether your loved one is innocent or guilty. The question is whether the state followed the procedure the California Constitution and Penal Code require to prosecute them. That answer is verifiable. It either exists in the court record and the CDCR central file, or it does not.
Where the required records are missing, three things follow under California law:
Please reach out to us at info@withoutoneplea.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Any person who has been, is now or will be, imprisoned in the California State Prison system (CDCR) without an Indictment initiating the felony charges in the county Superior Court case... or, without a Judgment of Conviction (JOC) (court order) in the Superior Court or CDCR's case records.
Confined persons can make a request on an "Inmate Request for Interview" Form 22 to Records or their Counselor for a copy of their Indictment and JOC ... which Records does not have. Records will send them an "Abstract of Judgment" (AOJ) as CDCR's only authority to detain them. The AOJ is a clerical summary, not a judgment or court order. People v. Mitchell, 25 Cal.4th 181, 186 (2001).
They can also write to the Clerk of the sentencing court for copies.
Family and friends on the outside can also get these documents from the Clerk of the Court by submitting the defendant's name and/or case number.
No indictment? There is no authority for state to prosecute in the first place and all subsequent actions by the court (e.g., sentence of imprisonment) are moot.
Relevance? Prisoner is entitled to discharge.
"Accordingly, 'the first pleading by the prosecution in felony cases may be either an indictment or an information.'" Guillory v. Superior Court (2003) 31 Cal.4th 168, 173-175.
No JOC? There is no authority for state to confine in state prison.
Relevance? Under Gibson, custody is unauthorized and the prisoner is entitled to discharge.
"Final process in criminal actions... is a certified copy of the judgment as entered in the minutes." Ex parte Gibson, 31 Cal. 619, 622 (1867).
If a Complaint charging a felony is filed first in the case by the state and was the document a person plead guilty or not guilty to, it is a fraudulent document without any authority at all.
Relevance? Court lacks jurisdiction: go home.
"A felony complaint ... does not confer trial jurisdiction. It invokes only the authority of a magistrate... Only... may an information... be filed.'" Serna v. Superior Court (1985) 40 Cal.3d 239, 257-258.
The WOP commercial process takes approximately 5 months to complete.
Initial correspondence is sent to the public employee responsible for prosecuting / holding the confined person and makes a demand for production of the authority to detain or mandatory release from prison.
If confined person is not released, the named public employee and the state voluntarily accept financial responsibility for unlawful imprisonment. This amount becomes a lien against the public employee and the state.
When the lien is enforced, by law, the confined person must be released.
No. This opportunity is not represented as coming from a law firm or as an offer for legal representation. However, WOP does hire outside counsel when necessary and at no extra cost to our clients.
Our founder has over 43 years' experience as an advocate and legal researcher studying jurisdiction and the documented outcomes.
WOP has a proven track record of success and is dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome for our clients, i.e., release from prison and compensation for unlawful confinement.
WOP charges $5,000.00 admin fee + 50% of compensation awarded.
Include all of the info requested in the WOP Agreement contact form along with any other info you feel may be relevant. We encourage you to reach out with any questions you may have. After WOP has received your request, we often respond within the same business day.
Without One Plea P.O. Box 2298 Lodi, California 95241
(209) 420-8369
Services are currently available for those persons confined in California prisons only.
P.O. Box 2298, Lodi, California 95241
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