extremly embarrased and I don't know what to do

[capleton]

I got charged with indecent exposure and nudity on the 27th of march. This all happened within 30 minutes after getting up from bed. Anyways me and my buddy rode our bikes to our other friends house, he wasn't home so we decided to wait for him so we pulled up lawn chairs and sat down, occasionally we would get up and take a peek around the corner and then come back. Suddenly this guy yells at us "do you think its gangster to have your **** out" and this woman points at me and says hes the one, I was really confused. We decided to leave but just as we were leaving a police car showed up and the police man told me to zip myself up. I looked down and to my horror yes my fly was undone but while I was in the police car I heard the woman say oh he was also masturbating as if it was an afterthought to get me in more trouble. I never touched my genitals or I would've known my fly was undone. My friend never noticed it was undone or he would've told me. Problem is my friend is moving before the trial so my question is what do I do if I have no witnesses to back up the truth? will I get a fair trial? and what do you guys think of this whole situation? I had no intention of exposing myself or offending anyone. I was pretty much half asleep when this all happened. I've tried to contact some lawyers but I can't really afford to pay for one. This is the first time I've been charged with anything

[Hybrid]

I am not an attorney, so you should still consult one.

Believe it or not, eye witness testimony is not that strong as far as evidence is concerned. If this lady is as weird as you make her sound, she should be easy yo discredit. Her statement about masterbating will probably amount to nothing - especially with a statement to the contrary from your friend.

The only thing you really need to worry about is the fact that the cop told you to zip up. HIS statement is worth a lot more than hers. He can't claim to have seen you masterbating, but if he says that your genitals were visible, then that's a problem. If you were waring any underware, then that shouldn't be a problem.

The good news? The cop might not show up for court. He might have filed a charge to shut the neighbors up. It's not unheard of for cops to do that and not follow up on the case. If he has better things to do, and you didn't say or do anything to piss him off, it's POSSIBLE that this will all just go away (as long as YOU show up for court).

Find out if the exposure law in your area is considered to have "strict liability" or "coulpable mental state". If it's strict liability, your screwed. Good luck, you'll need it.
If it's about coulpable mental state, then find out what that state is (intentional, reckless, or negligent). It will probably be intentional. If it is, then they have to probe that you MEANT to expose yourself. Even if you knew, and just didn't care, that's not enough for them to convict you. (unless the state is reckless - then knowing and not caring is enough). If the state is negligent, then your as screwed as you would be under strict liability (basically, it doesn't matter what you thought was going on, you're still responsible)