I'm being charged with a misdemeanor vandalism charge where…

I would look for better friends too if I were you. If what he wanted was the window fixed for example, he should have just asked you to pay for the repairs. Now, even if you offered to do that the prosecution would not have to allow him to drop charges against you. So leave him alone right now.

Vandalism in Tennessee is TCA Section 39-14-408 and is a misdemeanor if the damage you supposedly caused is less than $500. In order to convict you of these charges beyond a reasonable doubt the state would have to prove that you knowingly or intentionally damaged the personal or real property of another. That means that even if you did damage the window, if after trial the jury found you did so only accidentally, or unintentionally, or without thinking that would not be enough to convict you of this crime.

If this is a first offense, you will probably be made a non-jail offer of some sort, probably involving paying off the damage to the window, among other things. A plea may sound attractive and convenient ("I broke the window so I might as well pay for it and get it over with") but it will have consequences for the rest of your life. It's not like a civil judgment against you, where you just have to pay up. A criminal plea can give you a record that could cause all kinds of difficultites for you down the road. So before you do anything you will need to speak to a criminal attorney and hear him analyze all of your rights and chances here, once he's seen the court papers, interviewed you in full, and conferred with the prosecutor to get a sense of the cas against you.

When you go to court tomorrow it will be for your arraignment. That is, the court will formally tell you what you're charged with and will ask you how you plead. It is always customary for defendants to start off by saying, "Not guilty." Our system allows that, because under American law, defendants are all innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So no matter what they did or didn't do, they take advantage of that presumption of innocence. This keeps all of their legal rights and options available to him. A defendant should never incriminate himself by admitting guilt, unless or until there's a deal on the table that he wants and is ready to take. Then he can withdraw his plea of not guilty and plead guilty to get the deal.

You have an absolute right to an attorney on a criminal case. If you can't afford a lawyer, let the judge know and a public defender will be appointed for you at no cost. If the judge thinks you can afford to hire a lawyer, he will give you a new date to come back with one so that the case can go forward. Because of consequences you don't want to handle this by yourself.

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This thread will not close and you can always use it to get clarification.This is informational only and is NOT legal advice.