Not all software engineers have the fortune to work for some startup or trendy employer that would be fine with you missing work for something like this. My em

Not all software engineers have the fortune to work for some startup or trendy employer that would be fine with you missing work for something like this. My employer is pretty awesome in many ways, and they've demonstrated to me over and over that they value having me there - but at the end of the day I work in corporate America and I have no doubt that missing an entire week off unscheduled would endanger my employment with them (my managers would fight for me, but HR gets the final word and policy is pretty clear). Now, in this case, you may very well be right that the potential ramifications may be even worse than losing your job in the long term - but people with families depending on them have the short term they have to think about too, there's a reason plea bargains are so common in the US even when you have a good case to defend against.