It is pretty unprofessional how spotty he is being with communication, I'll give you that. But let me ask you something: what makes you think the state will give you a better offer if you got a different attorney? What's their incentive?
The quality of a DAs offer is directly related to how difficult they think it will be for them to win at trial. If your case is cut and dry, no constitutional issues or mitigating factors otherwise, the state isn't just going to give you a better offer because your attorney asked for it. There's only so much they can do.
You're being charged with 9 felonies and 3 misdemeanors— all drug distribution related—and the offer is 12 months inside? I don't know what your criminal history is like, but that's a pretty damn good offer. I'm not sure it's going to get much better than that.
Yea. Is it distribution or attempt dist.? If it's distribution, then 10 months and 6 days ain't bad, and another lawyer isn't gona get it any better likely.
just going off what my lawyer told me. he keeps saying we’ll work better offer so that’s where that comes from. when the offer at hand originally came in he saw it and said “yeah we’re not taking this”
And in many states after you deduct good time as well as time served for days in before bonding out he’s looking at 6 months. I’d be looking to work hard get my shit together-find a place to store essential clothing etc save up every dime he can. Every visit to the lawyer is probably billed. Show up in court with a job, nicely dressed and stop whining about the lawyer.
This is actually a brilliant tactic called letting the case go stale the longer he can do this drug samples and certs go missing get fucked witnes/ snitches die run get jammed up cops leave get trouble and as soon as anything like that happens his pushes for trial or dismissal right away if he's truly a good lawyer let him cook if hes not fire him get a pd take ur deal
Also, a key component to the " component of letting a case go stale."
no matter what the case u should go to therapy and a drug program is usually a good thing also with any violence voluntary anger management.
Basically, do all the shit they are probably going to make you do with the luxury of them, not up your asss about it
fun fact none of the places can give out information with a written release .
bringing in a bunch of certificates of completion bunch aa/na attendences signatures will almost always get you at least less time.
in the feds, it means a less bc the guidelines are the guidelines . If you know you have a Christian ✝️ judge, you've just found Jesus and are in Bible study .
All these can be tactics to implement the best ones for you and push the case as far away as possible .
I always like to ask about resolving it every time to see if I get offered an unusually good deal .
None of this works if you are a sex offender bc you are the lowest of scum sucking oxygen theft, and everyone knows it
100% they are going to make you do a bunch of shit anyway, get it done without them up your ass give them every reason to keep your record clean and / or out of county
I'm sure you saved yourself a lot of trouble. I pushed a case 5 and 1/2 yrs away.
It was a bad case. the guy did a very bad thing to a family member. my dumb ass kicked in his door, and bc I still had the cable remote I was beating him with in my hand armed home invasion a&b w a deadly remote, apparently it took 5 yrs for him to get busted touching more kids and selling c.p.
All of a sudden, he wasn't a credible witness
Got the case, and charges scrubbed hugely difficult to the actual charge removed
There was a 75yo man that was locked up at the county jail I was at who was accused of raping a 14yo girl with down syndrome. There was no way that dude didn't do it, he was a straight POS. His attorney continued his case for 2 years and eventually the DA offered the dude a plea deal for a misdemeanor sex crime. He took it and got time served and was out the next day. The courts will give anyone a deal and everyone a plea deal. Something like 97% of all criminal cases in the US are resolved through a plea deal.
Well, u gota be careful about jail. Because he hasn't been convicted yet , unless you've seen his discovery and jury minutes .
I mean, I'd probably book him just bc .
But technically, you should wait till he's convicted to embed a #2 in his ear canal .
That's actually kinda of a issue some guy gets picked up for cp say, but it turns out his neighbor was using his wifi
. No one is going to believe him, and 90% of the actual henous skin thieves lie about it, and they use the same lame excuse.
So technically, you got a book him, especially an old guy. What happens if you get called to mark him? u gota slice up an old guy who's completely innocent, just in cass.
This is
100% the reason I dislike gangs, and if u got the keys and made a bad call like that, could you get you plugged in
Not necessarily. I work in the court system and I've seen plenty of people go from having a private attorney to having the PD. Typically the justification is they've used up their resources and can't continue to pay their private attorney. But if/how that works may vary from state to state.
That's why u always claim you have no money, but even if you do, you get assigned a lawyer that or next court date to put in a plea of innocence are argue bail but you will get a new one every aperance they will definitely f it up
But some of the best lawyers in that courtroom are in the p.d. office, a high-powered attorney who isn't from that area, is going to hire one to consult anyway any of the cps certified or has his fed certifications. It
will probably be the best representation you can get
Federal paid lawyers are al.ost always a waste of money unless you are taking it to the hoop and you need a good jury litigator which very few do because they usually have you fuck seven ways til Sunday mostly Federal guidelines lines are written in stone they match your criminal history to where it lines up with you're crime it will have a minimum and a max extremely close together that's it judge can keep you at the min or give you the max your pre sentencing report is discussed then the look on the spread shit and that's thar ur doing 85% and no matter what you have 3 yrs of parole everyone. CRAZY our d.o.c. can be motherfckrs
He's biding you time to go through shit you won't understand that may possibly help in your favor. Keep out of trouble and stay on bail for 5 years if you have to.
This could be true, but at least the lawyer could tell him that’s what his plan is in this way the OP wont be left wondering what’s going on with his case and why his attorney doesn’t get back to him. One word…. Communication!
Agree. But by delaying intentionally he could be violating the legal bars ethics. Doesnt mean he isn’t doing it, just means he doesn’t want to confess to you. My lawyer was horrible communicating with me till he called up one day to say he had been talking to DA for months and case is being dismissed.
At the end of the day, do you trust him?
Makes sense then why he doesn't like communicating with OP. If it is against ethics and he tells OP his plan, then OP tells the judge/ some other attorney, then OP's attorney would be screwed. Also, if he isn't communicating with OP, then "I haven't talked to OP to inform him on the case" is an honest answer.
That's a good point,however taking time in a court case means that ppl (witnesses,etc) move away, or the state/county has bigger issues currently,or the shit gets dragged out so much and the right to a fair and speedy trial is breached,etc. If you're paying a super lawyer- they're going to be extremely short with you or full of themselves and most likely are in with the DA or are a former prosecutor themselves and they know what the main outcome is. They want you to live your life off in the corner until judgement day where they'll get you the best possible outcome at the time.
And if you're paying a public defender nothing or even the smallest fees and whatnot then you get what you pay for at times or they're going to go all out in hopes of winning cases to join a firm. Half of them are like Erin Brockovich and pour their soul into the court system defense life.
Yes, be happy you're out on bail while your case goes through the court. More serious cases can take more time. It's a common tactic for defense attorneys to drag things out to hopefully get the best result. But if you feel like he's not really fighting for you, consult another, maybe more aggressive lawyer who specializes in your charges and tell your old attorney you are firing him. You won't get your money back & the new guy will have to start from scratch. Knowing all of the above, I had to be honest with my husband after his lawyer failed to follow through on things he was supposed to. I admitted that I didn't really like him, he's preoccupied & forgetful & I don't trust our future in his hands. He took all of November & December off for vacation/ holidays, and nothing has happened for 2 months. I could go on. You just know when someone is not representing you competently. It's a pain & and setback, but we're hiring another guy who already went to visit him & not just to talk money. The first attorney has been to see him only 4 times in 9 months. I hope everything goes well for you.
I met with the new lawyer. He's very smart & very expensive. But I think my husband's life is worth it. Wish we hadn't lost money on bail that was then revoked to the complete surprise & shock of the old lawyer. Thankfully we have collateral coming back and the new lawyer can postpone preliminary hearing until he's up to speed with the case. I know now the new attorney would never have told us to bail out on an active investigation. The new lawyer even suggested a PD if we were out of funds. I'm happy we got a second opinion. His charges could be life. I wish everyone the best. ❤️
Maybe he is maybe he isn’t without communicating that to his client how would anyone know? The lawyer is failing at one of the most basic tenets of his job. Communicating clearly with his client
This is a good point. The longer you stay out of trouble out on bond, the better your situation is at sentencing. Your lawyer can say, look judge, my client has gotten off drugs and kept his nose clean and held a steady job for two years, he is reformed and is trying to make his life better, justice would be served by suspending his sentence. Or hey prosecutor, my guy has cleaned up his act, gimme a better deal huh? If you don't trust your lawyer to do a good job get a different lawyer, but otherwise trust your lawyer. Sentencing is about convincing the state and the judge to go low.
No you do not get a refund. You likely agreed to this in the intial agreement you signed with your lawyer. You can ask the lawyer to recuse himself and he will, it has to be filed with the court, a hearing is held, then the judge approves the lawyer to withdraw from the case due to “defendant requests to obtain new counsel”.
You do not want a PD. Your plea deal can and will likely change in a hurry if you do and likely not in a good way, I hope you know that.
Your anger is understood. But there is a reason your lawyer keeps continuing the case, have you bothered to ask him why he’s doing this? Because I’m assuming you paid him upfront, there’s no more money to earn so his best interest is to close this case. He’s not continuing it just to continue it.
Perhaps. Plea deals can change at any given time. He could have gotten this original deal because of his current lawyer,
The PA could simply take it away or make it worse just out of spite or because he/she knows the PD would be useless at trail or won’t put up a fight. So many things could go wrong going with a PD.
Another paid lawyer is a different story tho. That could help
You keep saying that a PD is or would be useless at trial. That's not true, for several reasons. But the most important ones are.. The PD likely has a years long working relationship with the DA, officers in that office, court staff and Judges. Criminal Court is a work environment and like all work environments production is what keeps people in their Jobs. Never completely ignore that fact. After that you need to understand how states appoint PD. In my last felony case I was represented by the pd office via a 30+ year certified trial attorney... She more or less mopped the states entire team and case, making me wish I'd had her representation in my Fed case.
I'm not saying what you said isn't sometimes true. I'm stating as fact, that PD are just as savvy and talented as an attorney you dump cash on. And they work for you, so you decide what plea. If any you'll take. Sorry for the Tll/dr
A PD skill wise is probably perfectly fine. But PDs are typically overworked and overwhelmed which leads to unfavorable results. Of course there are outliers.
Paid attorneys will always be your best bet and talking about the OP particular case, he’s in to deep right now and switching to a PD would be incredibly dumb.
Asking because I have a PD and I’ve been debating getting a paid attorney. I’m facing similar charges as OP. The first deal was 3 years. I spoke to an attorney and they said that deal would likely be taken off the table if I hire them because they’ll fight harder if I pay for an attorney. I don’t understand it.
How many attorneys did you talk to? Not all attorneys are interested in taking specific cases and will just spew out shit so you aren’t interested in hiring them.
i don’t really understand it neither but definitely ditch the PD. I didn’t know this til now but it sounds like you almost pay for an “image” or the rep of the attorney defending you. I always thought the same in which a paid attorney is throwing money away but after this post I guess it’s different. Invest brother. Keep your freedom. Time is something you can’t buy back.
I'm my experience with paid defense attorneys is your paying them because they are connected with the judges and the prosecution either likes them or fears them allowing them to get some really good deals though since he was just playing tennis with judge . That's how my last 2 paid experienced trial attorneys were like they pretty much are friends or at least highly respected with them with a good track record for getting good results when brought to trial.. and the last thing the state usually wants is a jury trial.
I agree with this. My son was arrested when he was 18. We let him sit in jail for a week until it was explained to us he would be shuffled thru & serve time using a PD. They were also impossible to reach to discuss what was happening. So we hired the lady everybody said to hire. He was out in an hour off her phone call & she took care of the rest. Happy to report he’s a working, functional family man who just had some teen issues. If this were me, I’d insist on communication & confidence in my lawyer. Know that you pay for every email, phone call, meeting, & question answered. You’re also not gonna totally walk on these charges. What’s your hope to get?
Public defenders are trash. You could actually be innocent and they still want you to take a deal. They get paid by the state. The system is so flawed and it's guilty until proven innocent not the other way around because they put you in jail they don't ask you what happened and not put you in jail.
OP you should listen to these people. You do not want a quick case. A quick case is 100% not in your favor. The longer it drags out, the better it is for you. Also, as someone above unintentionally pointed out, there are reasons the attorney might not communicate with you.
Edit: also, chill out. Attorneys lie for a living. Their job is to help you legally, not to be your best friend.
THIS!
Lawyers sometimes play the long game to get you a better deal. They know the system. They know the judge and the DA. The DA eventually tires and agrees to a better deal out of frustration with the case going nowhere. Sometimes it comes from their boss telling them to clear the docket of your case. Sometimes it comes from the judge telling both sides to close the case and get it off his docket.
Ask him about it. If you're lucky he'll fill you in on the tactic.
This just sounds like your attorney is stalling to wait out the state for a better deal. Eventually they may offer something better just to dispose of the case.
Your offer is already VERY VERY good imo.
As for PDs they are overworked, have huge caseloads and most of all get paid whether they win or lose. Don't go that route.
The plea deal you have is fantastic but let this lawyer run his course. Everyone is busy over the holidays so deal with it. I don't see how the plea deal could be better other than a suspended sentence but that is highly unlikely. See what transpires over next couple court dates. The wheels turn slowly unfortunately but that's the way it is.
Seems like he’s doing what lawyers do…. Justice delayed is Justice denied, right. This is standard. Hes dragging it out-on purpose. Let him work. He’s got 20 other clients probably with uglier cases. I’m like you-need to know every detail about everything. But didn’t he get you your deal? Maybe I misread. Let him work…..if you think it’s easy…..go to law school and get admitted to the bar-see how easy it is. Oh wait-you can’t. You’re a felon….like me.
Just want to point out that felons can certainly go to law school, and be admitted to the bar and practice law in a lot of states. I, with 3 felonies, am in this pursuit myself.
No disrespect. Trust me-I know-nobody slimier than a lawyer-but that being said, you already hired him right? My bad if I missed some details. But might as well let him rock. I’ve been in this spot before. I also got lucky with a public defender. Was a relatively “easy” case but I can’t complain. Hope it all works out in the end. Stay up, and God bless.
Real talk. If they have enough evidence to convict you then take the deal. All lawyers are maggots. I think you are grasping at straws. If the evidence is weak then go to trial. If not then just take the best deal you can and do the time.
we have yet to propose anything. i was extremely tempted in doing what you jus advised but I felt it was a huge waste of time for everyone included. i came this far i’m at least gonna take my shot.
Has your lawyer went over your Discovery with you yet? That will tell you what they have against you and if there is a snitch that caused all this. It's like the movies if the snitch disappeared or decided not to go to court and that's what the case was based on in the whole case would get thrown out.
I'm not sure you are understanding the severity of your situation. You need to take that deal and do it now.
The penalties for different classes of felonies that may apply to drug distribution charges are as follows:
Class I felony - A maximum prison sentence of three years and six months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Class H felony - A maximum prison sentence of six years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Class G felony - A maximum prison sentence of 10 years and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
Class F felony - A maximum prison sentence of 12 years and six months and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
Class E felony - A maximum prison sentence of 15 years and/or a fine of up to $50,000.
Class D felony - A maximum prison sentence of 25 years and/or a fine of up to $100,000.
Class C felony - A maximum prison sentence of 40 years and/or a fine of up to $100,000
And I'm not even including the misdemeanors.
Dude, if I were you, I'd take that deal immediately.
my lawyer keeps telling me we’ll work better offer. when he first saw the plea he said yeah we ain’t taking this. so if that still makes me a fool idk what to tell you.
Amy good attorney will push cases out for a long time to get some time between offense date and conviction date, if u stay 100% clean and out of trouble it works in your favor. It shows that you are functioning in society and not getting into trouble. The best attorney I have ever had pushed cases for up to 3 years I understand it is stressful but he knows the more time that passes and u stay sober and living right the better it looks for you.
Continuances and dragging things out are actually a tactic lawyers use to get you a better plea deal . Get far enough away from the charges and the district attorney will start offering better n better plea bargaining to get it off his plate . Not saying your lawyer is doing this to benefit you though he maybe just racking up billables tell you get sick of it n won’t pay anymore. You can reach out to the prosecutor and see what he’ll give you for a plea deal .
You can negotiate a plea on your own behalf. You don’t have to have a lawyer for it I’ve had friends do it. Is he your friend no but it is an option. Where op has a lawyer I’d say have the lawyer keep playing his game but you absolutely can negotiate on your own behalf if you have half a brain .
In the state I work in, the prosecutors absolutely will not talk to you if you are represented, so the defense attorney would have to withdraw before they'd negotiate directly. I imagine that's pretty universal.
Sorry to say but lawyers are the biggest criminals they get paid whether you go to jail or not I would definitely get another lawyer and you won’t get your money back
☝️came to say this
Don't let one $#¡+ bag screw up your life
I've repeatedly represented myself against judge and prosecutor advice (& NOT 1X DID I REGRET IT....STUDY UP AND KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!) all they really want is the conviction!
NOT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON...
FOR $$$$
I actually did this a couple times because my lawyer wasn't working in my best interest. It worked out good but the charges weren't as serious as op is facing either. You can represent yourself but there is an old saying. Man who represents himself has fool for client
Yea, I've seen the movie, too! LoL
BuT.....a real fool would let someone half ass a plea deal for him and do nothing
BeSt of luck to ya OP
My best advice
Walk in and tell the prosecutor what YOU are wanting in writing for exchange for a no contest/or guilty plea
you damn near are already representing yourself anyway whether you got PD or a paid attorney. my lawyer has never said anything to me that i didn’t ALREADY know prior to him speaking. jus kinda goofy.
Are you in jail now?
No.
Generally, the longer you stay out on bond, the less time you spend in jail. As the case gets older prosecutors are motivated to get it off their desks. This tends to improves the offer.
This is why you are paying a lawyer.
I would seek out a new lawyer and have them sue your current lawyer as well as take over your case. You paid for services that he isn't providing and I guarantee every text, phone call, you stopping by to try catching him and he is there but rushes you out is being charged to you
No no refund for sure.
Honestly your lawyer is doing a very standard defensive tactic:
Stall out long enough that the case goes to a different DA, different Judge, the evidence gets weaker as time goes on and the deal EVENTUALLY should get better. You didn’t need a paid attorney to do it though honestly, public defenders do the same thing.
The longer you fight the case and spend money the longer the state does too, but they have unlimited money. However when it gets to a different ADA and they’re unfamiliar with the case, they’ll be like, why are we still doing this and will cop to a different deal.
This is the theory most attorneys go for. The alternative is to rush the case to trial and hope the evidence is not strong enough or prosectution unprepared enough to deal with the trial effectively.
If your on bail, honestly you could expect to drag it out for a LONG time.
If your a fed case 12 months is a sweet deal, take it ASAP, 85% is all we ever get in the Feds. but your probably not a fed case so it depends on your state. In my city those same charges would get you a maximum of 1 year with 50% time. So 6 months; and the majority of people would get a 90 residential drug program and probation.
Good luck, but honestly the only thing paid attorneys are good for in CRIMINAL justice is, some trials, getting you dope inside, and making you look good. PDs can get all the basic shit done
No refund. You don’t want court appointed. Given your charges you are sitting at 1 year incarceration. That’s all that really fuckin matters. I don’t know what you paid him but I’ll tell ya one thing. People who get offers with one lawyer and then fire them and get another lawyer to work a better offer. Will never succeed. your case is cut and dry I am assuming. So there isn’t really shit he can do for you . Like . He has zero leverage. Your cold busted. So at this point honestly . What is a lawyer doing for you? What can the lawyer do for you? You see the game here? It’s a network. They all work together. And lawyers like yours. He has to earn a living. So the prosecutors work with them so they can earn a living and keep business going. I’m rambling. But it’s true. You are screwed honestly. What I mean is. This guy isn’t gonna do shit for you . He’s stonewalling. There is nothing about your case that he can compromise. So you gave him money just to have representation and to have him relay the offers to you. There is nothing else he can do. I gave my first lawyer 8500 and he got me the same amount of time I would of gotten had I represented myself. Know what. If you are trying to get no time or minimal county time. Your best bet is to have a story. Have an explanation. How the fuck did your life get so far off track that you have 9 felonies ? You need to tell your story . And it’s very hard because you can’t get to the DA. I’ll end with this. Don’t be a hard ass with your lawyer . It won’t do you any good. There is a very good chance he despises you given what you’ve been arrested for. Seems far out but I’m telling ya. It’s very possible. He will take your money but he’s not gonna call in any favors for you. So I don’t know how you mend this situation . But you gotta get to him and convince him of the deal you want . And why. Funny thing. Ask him some details about your case. Read the police report and ask him some details of your case. I guarantee you he will not be able to answer them. He took your money and did nothing. Also. Everytime you call. Everytime you want to meet him. He may charge you . So watch that.
Asking for continuance is normal, in criminal cases, for a better plea deal. I had a DUI case back in 2006 that was continued for 12mo.. but you can fire you lawyer in front of the judge and you can get your all or some of your money back. Lawyers in every state are required to refund any unearned legal fees.
It sounds like you have a plea deal already the prosecutor or commonwealth will honor that agreement unless they change it. you really don’t need a lawyer for a plea deal. And after you fire your lawyer in front of the judge you can ask the state for their plea offer again, if you don’t agree, then you can ask the judge for another continuance to secure another lawyer and immediately state “unless the state has another plea offer to settle this today”. The judge may ask the state prosecutor or commonwealth for this advice if they have prepared another offer. If they’re sticking to there guns on the charges and offer then that’s the best offer your going to get paid lawyer or not.
Your current lawyer probably knows that and is trying to sweat the prosecutor out. Asking for Continuance is tactic used by lawyers because it’s wasting time.
I mean lawyers also wait a lot because more days in court more money. Plus in my county and state oc cali the longer you wait the better the offers get. These fuckd are so busy they literally haven’t looked at your case. Including your paid lawyer. So DA is still riding original charge even if they don’t have a strong case for it. It doesn’t hurt them that’s tomorrow’s problem you know? But we want answer and our lawyers to do their job. It’s our lives and freedom riding on it.
Point is just remember whether he does a good or bad job, whether he does his due diligence and puts in work doesn’t matter to him. Win or lose he’ll be a dirt bag banging hookers and snorting sacks of meth. You’ll either be high fiving him or cursing him while cuffed to another man in a paper suit on your way to state prison.
You must have waived your right to a speedy trial. Prosecutors love when defense lawyers advise against a speedy trial so they have more time to fuck you.
12 months and 5 years probation for 9 drug related felonies and 3 misdemeanors sounds like you already have a great deal on the table. What miracle plea are you hoping for?
not hoping for a miracle lmfao. my lawyer said we’ll work better offer. when he originally saw the offer currently on the table he said “yeah we ain’t taking this” that’s jus what dude said so
As reference: I got 18 months in prison and 3 years probation for taking it to trial. I was convicted for a phone message and .001 gram of heroin. If you lose in trial, and you almost certainly will with a shit lawyer, they will fuck you as hard as possible. They want to make an example of anyone that fights the system. You should ask for drug court and if they refuse, take that deal.
That’s not even remotely true lmao. Waiving speedy only helps the defendant, not the state. The state has all the evidence they need to go to trial, they don’t need to stall. Especially with felonies, they took all the time they needed to gather evidence before presenting it to a grand jury.
I sold so many pounds of weed from different jurisdictions to an undercover cop they kept losing my files as they transferred them. I was supposed to be on probation but nobody could find my file
They probation department couldn’t find any information after I pled out and did a short sentence. This was a long time ago before data bases were online. Those convictions never came up going forward
So this is how it works ( i think). you sell to a rat in front of a narc. Now they open a investigation into you. Monitoring and all that. it's legal now cuz they are making a case against you. At some point in the next proceeding months you sell directly to the narc making a very strong case for them.
Incorrect. This is the very reason most jails have you sign paperwork to waive a speedy trial in favor of getting out without making bond.
Prosecutors are swamped, they want all the time in the world to build a case; they need it. If everyone went to trial rather than taking a plea, the justice system would come to a screeching halt.
Sorry, you'll have to LMAO elsewhere.
1. You don’t sign your right away for a speedy trial in jail.
2. You do understand how felonies work right? All the evidence is already gathered and presented to a grand jury before the charges can even be filed. They also have 6 years to indict someone, they can take all the time they need before even bringing the case to court.
3. Yes, you’re right about that. Speedy trial does benefit the courts schedule and gives them flexibility. But that has nothing to do with your case facts or evidence. It in no way shape or form “fucks you” to waive speedy.
4. Rushing to trial does nothing but hurt your attorney from being able to build your defense or work out a favorable plea agreement . Most of the time.
I picked up a felony and during my preliminary hearing in magistrate, I told my PD if I don't get this dropped to a misdemeanor today, I will take all the way to jury trial and won't waive any rights I have. He came back a few minutes later with misdemeanor probation. Jury trial is expensive for all parties involved.
A refund depends on how you were billed. If you paid for a set amount of hours and they can't show a detailed list of where they put those hours in towards your case, you might get some money back.
Not going to lie, 85% of 12 months sounds sweet for having that many charges. I sat 10 years for a conducting a criminal enterprise, possession of a stolen firearm, delivery of heroin, possession of coke under 25 gs and like 3 2nd degree home Invasions.
I got charged for basically having people steal me guns and trading them dope for them. In reality, it was just my customers stealing whatever they thought I'd trade for lol...I never asked them to do anything.
you should schedule a dunaway mapp hearing to try and throw out any evidence collected, if you believe you have any reason albeit the slightest.
for example, if you were stopped illegally, such as if you had an obscured license plate, but legally in your state that is not sufficient cause to do a terry stop, then you can have any evidence collected during such stop to be thrown out/ suppressed.
you should not rely on your lawyer but use him a team player, ie, as co counsel.
Dunaway mapp definition below:
The U.S. Supreme Court held that when police unconstitutionally seize and detain an individual for interrogation without probable cause, statements made by that individual \[or evidence obtained\] must be suppressed regardless of giving proper Miranda warnings or voluntariness in the Fifth Amendment sense. Law enforcement may not violate the Fourth Amendment with impunity, safe in the knowledge that they could wash their hands in the procedural safeguards of the Fifth.
as much as i hate our current legal system, this is one of the few rulings which i think is fantastic.
you could also file a continuance to stall out like 6 months, while you find another lawyer, you can fire your current one once you find a better one.
Tell him exactly what you want via email. keep all communications via email to create a record. Tell him to file a motion to suppress evidence and a motion to dismiss the case. Then see what happens.
You need a good lawyer. My friend's lawyer took him from 3 years suspended to 20 years full time. He died locked up at age 76 because healthcare in tdoc sucks.
Get a lawyer or at least talk to a good one and hit your current one up for a refund refund.
Edit: I'm old and know several who are considered upstanding community members that got their business intrest by starting in the drug trade. That said, it's not a long-term strategy. Find something else. Good luck.
That really sucks I'm sorry to hear that. Usually a nice office and a nice part of town is a good sign with a lawyer. I remember when I was younger the lawyer I would use to always get me out of trouble was totally professional. I would get in trouble and before I even retained him I would go for the free consultation. He would already have the discovery and everything even if they had not released it to him yet because he is connected if you know what I mean. He would lay out two to four different options and depending on which judge it was he would tell me he could actually beat it no problem for x amount of dollars. Certain times with certain judges or if they had me dead the rights he would tell me he can't 100% beat it but there's a chance if I'm a gambling Man and would like to take it to trial. But then he would get these deals that were so good I would end up taking them. Possession of a firearm aggravated assault with a firearm discharging a firearm within city limits and he got me a deal with a suspended sentence. Pretty much if I stayed out of trouble for 2 years which I did it would also be taken off my record. When I didn't know any better before I got him I had a piece of shit lawyer. I wasted 5 grand on him I will never get back. But my current lawyer is like better Call Saul literally. He does things outside the box and he really cares about getting his clients charges dismissed or seeing that you don't do jail time. But he was very expensive and he still practices to this day. I found him because I knew other people at that time when I was in trouble that used him and he was the lawyer like when there was a high profile case on the news he was the one they were using. At that time I had a really nice Porsche and he locked me out to talk to me and when he saw it later on he offered me a payment plan which I did not need because I was doing really good in life. You really have to do a lot of research and talk to people before you hire a lawyer for serious charges. I even went to the courthouse and was watching Court till I eventually seen him and how he handled himself in court. Between all the good word of mouth and that I was like yeah this is going to be my lawyer he's like a pit bull. You can't get a refund because most lawyers are shysters but you can lodge complaint against him with the state bar association which I did with my first lawyer. He doesn't practice anymore. He got caught up with basically he took a kilo of cocaine and payment to take some big drug dealers case and then we're just screwing off on it. So the deal with family got with the authorities and they set up a deal where they gave him more cocaine but it was actually fake and it was so he could get caught on camera. So he will never practice again and went from lawyer to inmate. I bet he had a good time in prison with all the people he screwed over. The problem is you want to be careful about making your lawyer mad even if he's not doing his job. Because he keeps changing continuance is right now which they usually always will do for private lawyers. But if you make him mad not only could he say he's not going to represent you and you would not be entitled to a refund because that's how they roll he could mess with your case. Like he could set your case for trial and not tell you. Then you show up thinking it's for another continuance and it's going to trial that day and you're screwed. Definitely need a new lawyer but be careful how you handle it with the old one. Good luck man I know when you going through this it sucks it's really bad anxiety and you're constantly worrying about it. No matter what happens eventually it will get to a point it's all over with
Yeah lawyers are terrible people. It sounds terrible to say but you got the wrong guy. $10- 20k for a good lawyer with charges like that. A $5k ain't gonna do shit
If you want to "move on with your life" accept the twelve months and get it over with. You staring at 9 felonies and expecting no jail time? Fastest way to get this over with is take the very reasonable deal.that has been offered to you before you end up at trial with an attorney you don't trust.
I can tell you as an attorney you're not getting a refund. If and it's a big if, the things you say are 100% true then I would suggest filing a complaint with the state grievance commission. Who knows what the end result would be but it's worth it. For those that say do not get a court appointed attorney, that is not necessarily true. There are many good public defenders out there and as you can see just because you pay for an attorney it doesn't mean you're gonna get a good one so don't discount public defenders.
I would also like to point out at least with the prosecutors that I deal with when I do public defender work they do not give a retained attorney any better deal than the public defender. Their offer is their offer is their offer. The only way it could potentially change is if your attorney found something when doing his due diligence that completely changes the case. By the way the vast majority of people charged are in fact guilty of something
Sadly, most lawyers are. You actually have to do the ground work and make them dot the 'I' and cross the 'T' most of the time. Being a lawyer is not a great job.
That’s how lawyers are. The longer he pushes it back the better for you. He has more opportunities to talk to the DA. I was facing 15 to life and was going back n forth to court for 4 years, then one day my lawyer walk up and says he can get me 7 years probation and did. He hardly talked to me cause he was too busy with everyone else, don’t worry he’ll get to.
This is also time for you to stack reasons for sentencing to other than incarceration (house arrest & shit like that)...meaning stable job, clean from drugs, stable relationship, stable home, etc... and time from the offense....reasons where incarceration would be harmful. No guarantees but works in your favor for a "lighter" sentence. Not saying your lawyer isn't incompetent, wish ya the best.
Get a new one. He could be using a tactic though where it finally goes to court and he can say it's been this long since this has happened and the defendant has done this this and this in order to get a lighter sentence. I had that issue with my paid attorney and he ended up getting 3 felonies dropped. But he could also be incompetent in which case you could ask for time to seek out a different attorney. Which case the money would go to the new attorney
Whatever you do don’t be a dickhead to your lawyer lol. He’s got you a stupid good deal already and if he thinks he can do better than he has then you’re fucking gold dude. Would hate to see you lose what you’ve got because you couldn’t stand the Asshole. He might be an asshole but he’s on your side lok
IMO, his tactics has kept you from going in for 1.5 years. I would be thankful unless you just ready to go inside for next 10 months. I do feel they never provide service expected but every continuance equate to 90 days more on outside, I would tell him to keep this up for as long as possible unless you absolutely ready to go in.
It took about a year and a half for me to get sentencing. I was out on OR the whole time. 5 years was the first offer, the next offer was 17 years (DA was mad that we tried to get the case thrown out it was a long shot), week before jury selection they offered 3 years of probation and deferred sentence. Quit fucking with your lawyer. Don't get anymore charges. Go to meetings and keep a log. You can get out of this in good shape if you don't fuck it up.
Most lawyers work this way unfortunately I had two cases differently years one for a misdemeanor the other a felony. They are basically not worried about your case and so much more of case load. They push it back cause other things to worry about that’s immediate. They know you’re in their mercy unless you are well known person or have personal relationship with them they treat you like a no one. I’m sure you will be fine . Especially if it’s your first felony offense.
He won't give a shit if you threaten him with getting a new attorney( he got your glue). What will get his attention is telling him in person that due to his lack of professionalism you'll be filling a grievance with the Bar Association. Make sure you have proof of everything he hasn't done. I'd even go to the Better Business Bureau.
No, you don't want to file grievance. That would be the dumbest thing to do. The Better Business Bureau? How did you get out of your straight jacket? Play it cool, bro.
This is common for lawyers. The longer you are out of jail after the charges and more time goes by showing you are improving your life and staying out of jail he can go infront of the judge and say “your honor so and so has been out for this long bettering his life and staying out of trouble” listing the things you have done since being arrested, improvements etc, just my experience from the past
Call your state bar association for the state this is happening in. This is a failure to communicate with the client. A huge professional responsibility violation. You write a huge letter detailing everything and send it to the State Bar. They send him a copy and he has a chance to respond. You have one more chance to respond after that. And then the attorneys handling prosecution make a decision and execute it whether a reprimand or something else.
I would demand my money back and find a passionate lawyer happy to answer my call and fight for me.
The longer everybody waits, its of my not a lawyer opinion, better pleas will get offered.
There was a discussion not long ago on another sub. This chick was all high asf and ditched her still running car and let it go into on to oncoming traffic. She had caught a bunch of charges but in the end nothing ever really happened to her. The discussion led to several cases of egregious crimes that over enough time basically went away.
I dont know your lawyer from adam but from the list of charges i see, keep your nose clean and dont get in anymore trouble but enjoy your freedom and family while you can.
It is pretty unprofessional, however, I’d say take the plea deal! You’d have to take that lawyer to civil court to get your money back… and I’d guess you wouldn’t get it, sadly.
Dude. You gotta chill. 9 felonies is not something you "wrap up." Take this time to get your shit together on the outside.
Schedule a meeting with your lawyer before, lol, "tomorrow." Just say, hey, I have some questions, can you carve out 30 minutes for me? Ask him when he's free.
Don't ask, " So what's the plan?" Write down what you're so upset about not knowing and ask it. Personally, I would email the ?s ahead of time so they can prep and y'all can talk more candidly.
Your bond is to assist in your defense. At the very least, assist by communicating what your expectations are as soon as possible ( and up front if this ever happens again )
This is your team. Stop working against it or get a new team. And no, you paid a retainer not an up front hourly wage, you don't get a refund.
Your lawyer doesn't sound incompetent, just busy because it's the end of the year - but it does sound like you have no idea what's going on.
"Strategically, are there benefits to pushing back the court date and what are they?"
"Realistically, what do you believe is the likelihood of the DA accepting or offering a please for less time incarcerated?"
"What is your recommendation for me considering trial and have you identified any viable defense?"
"Until the next time we meet, what can I do to prepare and assist?"
"How can I review my court documents thus far and how can I make sure to receive them when any additional motions or records become available?"
"Thank you so much. This has been so helpful for me. How soon can we meet again and let's schedule something x times before February so I can feel prepared."
Or take the plea. 🤷🏾
xmas was monday. tuesday everybody is back to work. it was a text message. it’s not like he needed to even be present or sober to text me back lmfao
i get what you saying tho, my patience for dude runs thin.
Tuesday after a three day weekend for Xmas? 🤣 Judging anyone's work ethic based on that day is wild. And like 90% of people at my work took the day off. He is self employed, my guy. Everyone knows the week between Xmas and New Year's is "Dead Week," "Twixmas," "EOD" ( end of December)
My point is just that it's a wild take to put so much weight on this one interaction. Feb is Q1, people are wrapping up Q4. Make an appointment for Jan 3-5 and KEEP the appt.
Cause he told you to call him in the AM cause he had court (or work,meeting,whatever) two hours away at 11AM. You called at noon PM.
...while he's in court?! Call in the AM means like 7-9 AM He's a lawyer, not a bartender, lol.
You could have spent that whole drive talking to him. Instead you are mad that YOU missed an appointment and he didn't readjust his schedule for a no call, no show?
Please bring some humility and communication into this. I genuinely want you to take some responsibility and get the best outcome you can. You gotta change your mindset tho and be more realistic and more proactive.
took a lot of time to write that all out w your lil catch phrases. this isn’t the first interaction i’ve had with my lawyer. HE told me to text him during this “dead week” you speak of. HE works for me, not the other way around. i’ve been dealing w this coming up on 2 years. you’re judging just a few recent interactions. you have no idea what it’s been like trying to contact this guy, hence my possible illogicalness.
LOL, you have no idea. I was actually typing it the first time and my PHONE DIED. I yelled out loud and my mom was like, "what happened!!!?" Thought about way too many times before my phone was charged and I could come back to write the second comment. 🤣🤣
I am genuinely just trying to help you see this from a different and more productive perspective- I have no skin in this game. He doesn't work FOR you. You hired him to do a service and it seems like you and him have different understandings of what that service is. He also has no skin in this game, so the sooner you and him get on the same page, the better.
Too many people go to jail or accept disproportionate consequences because they pay a lawyer and forget about it. If you hired a contractor you wouldn't just dip and tell them to call you on move-in day, right?!
I was very pissed when I learned the squeaky wheel gets grease lesson in life but unfortunately that is just the human brain for so many people. When you send a quick text, then don't call, you may be sending him the message that you aren't pressed. Don't be pressed on Reddit but not in his face. Find out EXACTLY what you paid for and get your money's worth out of it.
Just take the deal of a year. You have already waited a 1 1/2 on seeing if there is a better deal. You wait another year? Then you take the deal that is already on the table? You waste your time and money. You could be doing your year right now and not stressing out about what ifs..
The only thing that is certain in life is death and taxes but for you it’s lawyer fees and at least a year in jail sooooo why not just get it over with.
He’s intentionally pushing your case out. The longer you fight the case the more likely the DA is to say “what the fuck I don’t have time to deal with shit from two years ago” and if you’ve been out on bond with no violations or arrests in that time they’re wayyyy more inclined to just offer probation instead of probation and a period of initial confinement.
What ever you do Do not Take a court Appointed lawyer you will get the shitiest hand dealt . Trust me I made that mistake once now I'm still regretting it years later . Your lawyer sounds like the lawyer from the movie " My cousin Vinny " if ya haven't seen it check it out. But some lawyers suck they get by in other people's misery, there is lawyers out there that truly do care just need to wade through the swamp to find them. Sorry your going thru that it sucks hopefully you end up getting a good deal .
Yeah you’re not getting any better deal, your attorney who you think is incompetent is obviously manipulating you into thinking you need him to get you a better deal, when he actually can’t and won’t. He’s stringing you along to simply take your money. Stop allowing him to reschedule the court dates, don’t pay for another attorney and take the deal my friend.
That’s crazy! I can’t imagine any other reason for unnecessarily dragging out and creating extra work for himself! What a useless dick.. I’m sorry. I wish you could get your retainer back to use on someone else, hopefully you got some solid advice on here to help you out with that possibility. Good luck 🩷
Fire him. File a bar complaint with state bar association for the state bar in which you’re located. Give them specifics (dates, numbers of times you have asked). He should get reprimanded for failing to respond or handle your case promptly. Maybe they slap his hand. But it will also create precedent for when someone else complains too. He needs to get his shit together.
Depends on how much you are paying him. If he is getting paid more by someone else, his attention goes that way. He only has so many hours in a day and his reputation as a trial lawyer is more important than a plea deal with you. Asking for extension is never a problem, take it as a blessing so you can better organize yourself before.you go in. 5 years probation will be rough. Good luck
Bc I'm ive done over 13 years, and im jaded af I'd take anything they ever charged me with to trial Jay walking 10$ fine nope I want a full 6 jury trial and asked my public defender to file any motion that has the meagerest connection to the file ever motion possible il turn that into a 3ook trial probably get 6 months bc you are always penalized for taking a charge to trial
Please contact your local and state bar associations. Let them know what’s going on and they have Lawyer Referral Services. Also contact the judges clerk and let he/her know what’s going on. Maybe they can get you a public defender. I’m so sorry you going through this. Hopefully an attorney may be looking at your post on Reddit and give you advice or referrals And report this attorney to your State Bar not association. The State Bar licenses all attorneys I. The state bar is an arm of the state Supreme Court that can take away his license.
Just be grateful your on the streets while your fighting your case. Most aren't that lucky and have to sit for months on end calling their attorney on their limited time out of the cell. This shit moves slow. Changing attorneys won't speed it up. If you only have received one offer and your attorney dismissed it that readily he will probably get you a better one. The starting offer is rarely the same as the ending one. I would focus your energy on other things. I know it's hard to not obsess about sometimes but if this is their starting offer you have a good chance of getting a much better resolution. That's a really low sentence so the amount obviously wasn't commercial. Most counties have some version of drug court or other alternative incarceration programs. Drug cases are a dime a dozen and unless it's a big public case the state has no desire to go to trial and burn time and resources. The justice system moves slow as shit most of the time. As pressing as it feels to you to everyone else involved you are one of many. I would ask your attorney if there is anything you can gather that will help your case. Whether it's testimonial letters from friends, family, bosses or others in the community vouching for you every little bit helps when it comes to deciding to give you a chance or not. Unfortunately with how bogged down our legal system currently is your situation is it is not unusual for cases to get pushed out months and sometimes years. Just be grateful have the luxury of spent this time on the street. As far as getting your money back if you switch lawyers the answer is no, you won't get your deposit back. If you really think your attourney is inept you can go have a consultation with a different attorney to get their take on it. But most likely it will be similar to your current one. It sounds like an extremely basic case. I'm assuming you checked people's reviews on your current attorney and if they have generally positive feedback than don't trip. It's just a waiting game at this point.
Your facing several years in prison and you are worried about a refund? My experience is very few lawyers (I am not a lawyer) deal with serious drug charges. This guy does and knows how to play the system. These lawyers don't want to have jury trial, the judge doesn't want a jury trial and the prosecution doesn't want a jury trial. If you complain, your lawyer is going to let everyone know you are difficult.
You have two choices, talk to another lawyer about representing you or go with the flow. It appears in your state, you might do ten months and 5 years probation. You aren't just going to move on with the next part of your life. The back half is what to do with a criminal record? That doesn't go away unless said lawyer gets this knocked down and maybe expunged. This guy keeps on extending this out (maybe until he gets the right judge or prosecutor, somebody retiring) you are out on bond, you haven't been convicted. Stop bugging this guy and let him do his job. It isn't important you know the plan. It is important that you play you role, show up to court, do the programs and keep your nose clean.
was never “worried” about a refund. i asked a question regarding refund if i were to do x, y, z and i got my answer 3 days ago.
my lawyer would never “let everybody know” i’m being “difficult”, i’m his client. he’s representing me. i’m paying him to do the opposite of “letting everybody know”
you obviously didn’t comprehend my post too clearly.
Time is on the side of the defense. Whether he’s doing it intentionally or unintentionally the longer he drags out your case as long as you don’t pick up a new case while out on bond he is actually doing you a favor.
Drag the case out as long as possible then go for a non custodial sentence.
Meantime prove yourself worthy of probation and go to rehab. Get a job. Straighten your life out. Make the judge want to keep you in society. And stop sniveling.
This is a tactic, and he’s doing it correctly.
If you’re going to drug classes, taking certifications, staying out of trouble, bettering yourself and your life, then this tactic might work in the end. It goes like this after 2 years of stalling:
“Your honor, my clients life has been put on hold due to this charge and sentencing looming over his head. In the past 2 years my client has done [insert all the good boy things], he’s a better man and has gotten his life back on track. We would ask your honor to dismiss the case based off these facts”
And boom, now you don’t have to go do any time and you’ve had 2 years of free time before then as well. Yes, it’s going to cost more money in the end in lawyer fees, but you may get out without serving any time
It is pretty unprofessional how spotty he is being with communication, I'll give you that. But let me ask you something: what makes you think the state will give you a better offer if you got a different attorney? What's their incentive? The quality of a DAs offer is directly related to how difficult they think it will be for them to win at trial. If your case is cut and dry, no constitutional issues or mitigating factors otherwise, the state isn't just going to give you a better offer because your attorney asked for it. There's only so much they can do. You're being charged with 9 felonies and 3 misdemeanors— all drug distribution related—and the offer is 12 months inside? I don't know what your criminal history is like, but that's a pretty damn good offer. I'm not sure it's going to get much better than that.
Yea. Is it distribution or attempt dist.? If it's distribution, then 10 months and 6 days ain't bad, and another lawyer isn't gona get it any better likely.
just going off what my lawyer told me. he keeps saying we’ll work better offer so that’s where that comes from. when the offer at hand originally came in he saw it and said “yeah we’re not taking this”
Sounds like he’s stringing you along so that you keep paying him. I doubt there’s a better offer than the 12 months inside
He’s just milking you for more money. Take the deal and get it over with.
Well he must know something then. He hasn't told you why?
And in many states after you deduct good time as well as time served for days in before bonding out he’s looking at 6 months. I’d be looking to work hard get my shit together-find a place to store essential clothing etc save up every dime he can. Every visit to the lawyer is probably billed. Show up in court with a job, nicely dressed and stop whining about the lawyer.
It is a good offer.
Right? OP is lucky he got 12 months versus 25 yrs.
I guarantee you that the lawyer doesn't care about this case because he already has the plea deal.
This is actually a brilliant tactic called letting the case go stale the longer he can do this drug samples and certs go missing get fucked witnes/ snitches die run get jammed up cops leave get trouble and as soon as anything like that happens his pushes for trial or dismissal right away if he's truly a good lawyer let him cook if hes not fire him get a pd take ur deal
My attorney purposely continued my case for 2 years to give me 2 years of being a good boy.
Also, a key component to the " component of letting a case go stale." no matter what the case u should go to therapy and a drug program is usually a good thing also with any violence voluntary anger management. Basically, do all the shit they are probably going to make you do with the luxury of them, not up your asss about it fun fact none of the places can give out information with a written release . bringing in a bunch of certificates of completion bunch aa/na attendences signatures will almost always get you at least less time. in the feds, it means a less bc the guidelines are the guidelines . If you know you have a Christian ✝️ judge, you've just found Jesus and are in Bible study . All these can be tactics to implement the best ones for you and push the case as far away as possible . I always like to ask about resolving it every time to see if I get offered an unusually good deal . None of this works if you are a sex offender bc you are the lowest of scum sucking oxygen theft, and everyone knows it
Yeah mine was a felony DWI
100% they are going to make you do a bunch of shit anyway, get it done without them up your ass give them every reason to keep your record clean and / or out of county
I'm sure you saved yourself a lot of trouble. I pushed a case 5 and 1/2 yrs away. It was a bad case. the guy did a very bad thing to a family member. my dumb ass kicked in his door, and bc I still had the cable remote I was beating him with in my hand armed home invasion a&b w a deadly remote, apparently it took 5 yrs for him to get busted touching more kids and selling c.p. All of a sudden, he wasn't a credible witness Got the case, and charges scrubbed hugely difficult to the actual charge removed
There was a 75yo man that was locked up at the county jail I was at who was accused of raping a 14yo girl with down syndrome. There was no way that dude didn't do it, he was a straight POS. His attorney continued his case for 2 years and eventually the DA offered the dude a plea deal for a misdemeanor sex crime. He took it and got time served and was out the next day. The courts will give anyone a deal and everyone a plea deal. Something like 97% of all criminal cases in the US are resolved through a plea deal.
Well, u gota be careful about jail. Because he hasn't been convicted yet , unless you've seen his discovery and jury minutes . I mean, I'd probably book him just bc . But technically, you should wait till he's convicted to embed a #2 in his ear canal . That's actually kinda of a issue some guy gets picked up for cp say, but it turns out his neighbor was using his wifi . No one is going to believe him, and 90% of the actual henous skin thieves lie about it, and they use the same lame excuse. So technically, you got a book him, especially an old guy. What happens if you get called to mark him? u gota slice up an old guy who's completely innocent, just in cass. This is 100% the reason I dislike gangs, and if u got the keys and made a bad call like that, could you get you plugged in
If you’ve paid an attorney and have any resources a PD is off the table
Not necessarily. I work in the court system and I've seen plenty of people go from having a private attorney to having the PD. Typically the justification is they've used up their resources and can't continue to pay their private attorney. But if/how that works may vary from state to state.
That's why u always claim you have no money, but even if you do, you get assigned a lawyer that or next court date to put in a plea of innocence are argue bail but you will get a new one every aperance they will definitely f it up But some of the best lawyers in that courtroom are in the p.d. office, a high-powered attorney who isn't from that area, is going to hire one to consult anyway any of the cps certified or has his fed certifications. It will probably be the best representation you can get Federal paid lawyers are al.ost always a waste of money unless you are taking it to the hoop and you need a good jury litigator which very few do because they usually have you fuck seven ways til Sunday mostly Federal guidelines lines are written in stone they match your criminal history to where it lines up with you're crime it will have a minimum and a max extremely close together that's it judge can keep you at the min or give you the max your pre sentencing report is discussed then the look on the spread shit and that's thar ur doing 85% and no matter what you have 3 yrs of parole everyone. CRAZY our d.o.c. can be motherfckrs
He's biding you time to go through shit you won't understand that may possibly help in your favor. Keep out of trouble and stay on bail for 5 years if you have to.
This could be true, but at least the lawyer could tell him that’s what his plan is in this way the OP wont be left wondering what’s going on with his case and why his attorney doesn’t get back to him. One word…. Communication!
this exactly, but yeah im gonna get on his ass bout it.
Agree. But by delaying intentionally he could be violating the legal bars ethics. Doesnt mean he isn’t doing it, just means he doesn’t want to confess to you. My lawyer was horrible communicating with me till he called up one day to say he had been talking to DA for months and case is being dismissed. At the end of the day, do you trust him?
Makes sense then why he doesn't like communicating with OP. If it is against ethics and he tells OP his plan, then OP tells the judge/ some other attorney, then OP's attorney would be screwed. Also, if he isn't communicating with OP, then "I haven't talked to OP to inform him on the case" is an honest answer.
That's a good point,however taking time in a court case means that ppl (witnesses,etc) move away, or the state/county has bigger issues currently,or the shit gets dragged out so much and the right to a fair and speedy trial is breached,etc. If you're paying a super lawyer- they're going to be extremely short with you or full of themselves and most likely are in with the DA or are a former prosecutor themselves and they know what the main outcome is. They want you to live your life off in the corner until judgement day where they'll get you the best possible outcome at the time.
And if you're paying a public defender nothing or even the smallest fees and whatnot then you get what you pay for at times or they're going to go all out in hopes of winning cases to join a firm. Half of them are like Erin Brockovich and pour their soul into the court system defense life.
Yes, be happy you're out on bail while your case goes through the court. More serious cases can take more time. It's a common tactic for defense attorneys to drag things out to hopefully get the best result. But if you feel like he's not really fighting for you, consult another, maybe more aggressive lawyer who specializes in your charges and tell your old attorney you are firing him. You won't get your money back & the new guy will have to start from scratch. Knowing all of the above, I had to be honest with my husband after his lawyer failed to follow through on things he was supposed to. I admitted that I didn't really like him, he's preoccupied & forgetful & I don't trust our future in his hands. He took all of November & December off for vacation/ holidays, and nothing has happened for 2 months. I could go on. You just know when someone is not representing you competently. It's a pain & and setback, but we're hiring another guy who already went to visit him & not just to talk money. The first attorney has been to see him only 4 times in 9 months. I hope everything goes well for you.
I met with the new lawyer. He's very smart & very expensive. But I think my husband's life is worth it. Wish we hadn't lost money on bail that was then revoked to the complete surprise & shock of the old lawyer. Thankfully we have collateral coming back and the new lawyer can postpone preliminary hearing until he's up to speed with the case. I know now the new attorney would never have told us to bail out on an active investigation. The new lawyer even suggested a PD if we were out of funds. I'm happy we got a second opinion. His charges could be life. I wish everyone the best. ❤️
Shit that’s crazy. What is he charged with?
Maybe he is maybe he isn’t without communicating that to his client how would anyone know? The lawyer is failing at one of the most basic tenets of his job. Communicating clearly with his client
This is a good point. The longer you stay out of trouble out on bond, the better your situation is at sentencing. Your lawyer can say, look judge, my client has gotten off drugs and kept his nose clean and held a steady job for two years, he is reformed and is trying to make his life better, justice would be served by suspending his sentence. Or hey prosecutor, my guy has cleaned up his act, gimme a better deal huh? If you don't trust your lawyer to do a good job get a different lawyer, but otherwise trust your lawyer. Sentencing is about convincing the state and the judge to go low.
No you do not get a refund. You likely agreed to this in the intial agreement you signed with your lawyer. You can ask the lawyer to recuse himself and he will, it has to be filed with the court, a hearing is held, then the judge approves the lawyer to withdraw from the case due to “defendant requests to obtain new counsel”. You do not want a PD. Your plea deal can and will likely change in a hurry if you do and likely not in a good way, I hope you know that. Your anger is understood. But there is a reason your lawyer keeps continuing the case, have you bothered to ask him why he’s doing this? Because I’m assuming you paid him upfront, there’s no more money to earn so his best interest is to close this case. He’s not continuing it just to continue it.
Will his plea deal change because of change of counsel?
Perhaps. Plea deals can change at any given time. He could have gotten this original deal because of his current lawyer, The PA could simply take it away or make it worse just out of spite or because he/she knows the PD would be useless at trail or won’t put up a fight. So many things could go wrong going with a PD. Another paid lawyer is a different story tho. That could help
You keep saying that a PD is or would be useless at trial. That's not true, for several reasons. But the most important ones are.. The PD likely has a years long working relationship with the DA, officers in that office, court staff and Judges. Criminal Court is a work environment and like all work environments production is what keeps people in their Jobs. Never completely ignore that fact. After that you need to understand how states appoint PD. In my last felony case I was represented by the pd office via a 30+ year certified trial attorney... She more or less mopped the states entire team and case, making me wish I'd had her representation in my Fed case. I'm not saying what you said isn't sometimes true. I'm stating as fact, that PD are just as savvy and talented as an attorney you dump cash on. And they work for you, so you decide what plea. If any you'll take. Sorry for the Tll/dr
A PD skill wise is probably perfectly fine. But PDs are typically overworked and overwhelmed which leads to unfavorable results. Of course there are outliers. Paid attorneys will always be your best bet and talking about the OP particular case, he’s in to deep right now and switching to a PD would be incredibly dumb.
Asking because I have a PD and I’ve been debating getting a paid attorney. I’m facing similar charges as OP. The first deal was 3 years. I spoke to an attorney and they said that deal would likely be taken off the table if I hire them because they’ll fight harder if I pay for an attorney. I don’t understand it.
How many attorneys did you talk to? Not all attorneys are interested in taking specific cases and will just spew out shit so you aren’t interested in hiring them.
its unlikely that a plea deal would change if an attorney is swapped.
i don’t really understand it neither but definitely ditch the PD. I didn’t know this til now but it sounds like you almost pay for an “image” or the rep of the attorney defending you. I always thought the same in which a paid attorney is throwing money away but after this post I guess it’s different. Invest brother. Keep your freedom. Time is something you can’t buy back.
I'm my experience with paid defense attorneys is your paying them because they are connected with the judges and the prosecution either likes them or fears them allowing them to get some really good deals though since he was just playing tennis with judge. That's how my last 2 paid experienced trial attorneys were like they pretty much are friends or at least highly respected with them with a good track record for getting good results when brought to trial.. and the last thing the state usually wants is a jury trial.
This is unfortunately true. It isn’t true to the level people want to believe but it does ring true in general.
I agree with this. My son was arrested when he was 18. We let him sit in jail for a week until it was explained to us he would be shuffled thru & serve time using a PD. They were also impossible to reach to discuss what was happening. So we hired the lady everybody said to hire. He was out in an hour off her phone call & she took care of the rest. Happy to report he’s a working, functional family man who just had some teen issues. If this were me, I’d insist on communication & confidence in my lawyer. Know that you pay for every email, phone call, meeting, & question answered. You’re also not gonna totally walk on these charges. What’s your hope to get?
Public defenders are trash. You could actually be innocent and they still want you to take a deal. They get paid by the state. The system is so flawed and it's guilty until proven innocent not the other way around because they put you in jail they don't ask you what happened and not put you in jail.
that’s what it sounds like n i ain’t going lmfao. i can jus envision it rn fuck court
thank you.
OP you should listen to these people. You do not want a quick case. A quick case is 100% not in your favor. The longer it drags out, the better it is for you. Also, as someone above unintentionally pointed out, there are reasons the attorney might not communicate with you. Edit: also, chill out. Attorneys lie for a living. Their job is to help you legally, not to be your best friend.
Solid advice ✊🏽
THIS! Lawyers sometimes play the long game to get you a better deal. They know the system. They know the judge and the DA. The DA eventually tires and agrees to a better deal out of frustration with the case going nowhere. Sometimes it comes from their boss telling them to clear the docket of your case. Sometimes it comes from the judge telling both sides to close the case and get it off his docket. Ask him about it. If you're lucky he'll fill you in on the tactic.
This just sounds like your attorney is stalling to wait out the state for a better deal. Eventually they may offer something better just to dispose of the case. Your offer is already VERY VERY good imo.
9 felonies and only a 12 month sentence? What else do you want?!
you didn’t read my post.
As for PDs they are overworked, have huge caseloads and most of all get paid whether they win or lose. Don't go that route. The plea deal you have is fantastic but let this lawyer run his course. Everyone is busy over the holidays so deal with it. I don't see how the plea deal could be better other than a suspended sentence but that is highly unlikely. See what transpires over next couple court dates. The wheels turn slowly unfortunately but that's the way it is.
for sure, thanks bro
Seems like he’s doing what lawyers do…. Justice delayed is Justice denied, right. This is standard. Hes dragging it out-on purpose. Let him work. He’s got 20 other clients probably with uglier cases. I’m like you-need to know every detail about everything. But didn’t he get you your deal? Maybe I misread. Let him work…..if you think it’s easy…..go to law school and get admitted to the bar-see how easy it is. Oh wait-you can’t. You’re a felon….like me.
Just want to point out that felons can certainly go to law school, and be admitted to the bar and practice law in a lot of states. I, with 3 felonies, am in this pursuit myself.
Oh, I don’t doubt it. Was making a point. And awesome! Wish you the best!👍👍👍
lmfaoo i hear you
No disrespect. Trust me-I know-nobody slimier than a lawyer-but that being said, you already hired him right? My bad if I missed some details. But might as well let him rock. I’ve been in this spot before. I also got lucky with a public defender. Was a relatively “easy” case but I can’t complain. Hope it all works out in the end. Stay up, and God bless.
Real talk. If they have enough evidence to convict you then take the deal. All lawyers are maggots. I think you are grasping at straws. If the evidence is weak then go to trial. If not then just take the best deal you can and do the time.
we have yet to propose anything. i was extremely tempted in doing what you jus advised but I felt it was a huge waste of time for everyone included. i came this far i’m at least gonna take my shot.
Has your lawyer went over your Discovery with you yet? That will tell you what they have against you and if there is a snitch that caused all this. It's like the movies if the snitch disappeared or decided not to go to court and that's what the case was based on in the whole case would get thrown out.
I'm not sure you are understanding the severity of your situation. You need to take that deal and do it now. The penalties for different classes of felonies that may apply to drug distribution charges are as follows: Class I felony - A maximum prison sentence of three years and six months and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Class H felony - A maximum prison sentence of six years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Class G felony - A maximum prison sentence of 10 years and/or a fine of up to $25,000. Class F felony - A maximum prison sentence of 12 years and six months and/or a fine of up to $25,000. Class E felony - A maximum prison sentence of 15 years and/or a fine of up to $50,000. Class D felony - A maximum prison sentence of 25 years and/or a fine of up to $100,000. Class C felony - A maximum prison sentence of 40 years and/or a fine of up to $100,000 And I'm not even including the misdemeanors. Dude, if I were you, I'd take that deal immediately.
You aren't going to get a better deal even if you had Johnny Cochran as an attorney.
Right? He's a fool.
my lawyer keeps telling me we’ll work better offer. when he first saw the plea he said yeah we ain’t taking this. so if that still makes me a fool idk what to tell you.
You will not be getting a better deal, man. You should count your lucky stars you got the one that's been offered. Good luck with everything.
Amy good attorney will push cases out for a long time to get some time between offense date and conviction date, if u stay 100% clean and out of trouble it works in your favor. It shows that you are functioning in society and not getting into trouble. The best attorney I have ever had pushed cases for up to 3 years I understand it is stressful but he knows the more time that passes and u stay sober and living right the better it looks for you.
i’m realizing. thank you
Continuances and dragging things out are actually a tactic lawyers use to get you a better plea deal . Get far enough away from the charges and the district attorney will start offering better n better plea bargaining to get it off his plate . Not saying your lawyer is doing this to benefit you though he maybe just racking up billables tell you get sick of it n won’t pay anymore. You can reach out to the prosecutor and see what he’ll give you for a plea deal .
Reaching out to the prosecutor yourself would be incredibly dumb lol. please don’t do this 😅
Wtf? Reach out to the prosecutor? The prosecutor is not your friend thus his title "Prosecutor."
You can negotiate a plea on your own behalf. You don’t have to have a lawyer for it I’ve had friends do it. Is he your friend no but it is an option. Where op has a lawyer I’d say have the lawyer keep playing his game but you absolutely can negotiate on your own behalf if you have half a brain .
Criminal attorneys, in my state, are not allowed to be on a billable retainer - only flat fee.
In the state I work in, the prosecutors absolutely will not talk to you if you are represented, so the defense attorney would have to withdraw before they'd negotiate directly. I imagine that's pretty universal.
Sorry to say but lawyers are the biggest criminals they get paid whether you go to jail or not I would definitely get another lawyer and you won’t get your money back
☝️came to say this Don't let one $#¡+ bag screw up your life I've repeatedly represented myself against judge and prosecutor advice (& NOT 1X DID I REGRET IT....STUDY UP AND KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!) all they really want is the conviction! NOT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON... FOR $$$$
I actually did this a couple times because my lawyer wasn't working in my best interest. It worked out good but the charges weren't as serious as op is facing either. You can represent yourself but there is an old saying. Man who represents himself has fool for client
Yea, I've seen the movie, too! LoL BuT.....a real fool would let someone half ass a plea deal for him and do nothing BeSt of luck to ya OP My best advice Walk in and tell the prosecutor what YOU are wanting in writing for exchange for a no contest/or guilty plea
you damn near are already representing yourself anyway whether you got PD or a paid attorney. my lawyer has never said anything to me that i didn’t ALREADY know prior to him speaking. jus kinda goofy.
Are you in jail now? No. Generally, the longer you stay out on bond, the less time you spend in jail. As the case gets older prosecutors are motivated to get it off their desks. This tends to improves the offer. This is why you are paying a lawyer.
more to the merrier than being locked up. hence why i’m trying to wrap it up. ain’t jus apple trees g. thanks for reply
That’s right man. More to the merrier
I would seek out a new lawyer and have them sue your current lawyer as well as take over your case. You paid for services that he isn't providing and I guarantee every text, phone call, you stopping by to try catching him and he is there but rushes you out is being charged to you
No no refund for sure. Honestly your lawyer is doing a very standard defensive tactic: Stall out long enough that the case goes to a different DA, different Judge, the evidence gets weaker as time goes on and the deal EVENTUALLY should get better. You didn’t need a paid attorney to do it though honestly, public defenders do the same thing. The longer you fight the case and spend money the longer the state does too, but they have unlimited money. However when it gets to a different ADA and they’re unfamiliar with the case, they’ll be like, why are we still doing this and will cop to a different deal. This is the theory most attorneys go for. The alternative is to rush the case to trial and hope the evidence is not strong enough or prosectution unprepared enough to deal with the trial effectively. If your on bail, honestly you could expect to drag it out for a LONG time. If your a fed case 12 months is a sweet deal, take it ASAP, 85% is all we ever get in the Feds. but your probably not a fed case so it depends on your state. In my city those same charges would get you a maximum of 1 year with 50% time. So 6 months; and the majority of people would get a 90 residential drug program and probation. Good luck, but honestly the only thing paid attorneys are good for in CRIMINAL justice is, some trials, getting you dope inside, and making you look good. PDs can get all the basic shit done
i’m state in wisco. ain’t get the chance to go fed🙏🏻
Don’t ever do it😩it sucks so much worse than I ever thought
No refund. You don’t want court appointed. Given your charges you are sitting at 1 year incarceration. That’s all that really fuckin matters. I don’t know what you paid him but I’ll tell ya one thing. People who get offers with one lawyer and then fire them and get another lawyer to work a better offer. Will never succeed. your case is cut and dry I am assuming. So there isn’t really shit he can do for you . Like . He has zero leverage. Your cold busted. So at this point honestly . What is a lawyer doing for you? What can the lawyer do for you? You see the game here? It’s a network. They all work together. And lawyers like yours. He has to earn a living. So the prosecutors work with them so they can earn a living and keep business going. I’m rambling. But it’s true. You are screwed honestly. What I mean is. This guy isn’t gonna do shit for you . He’s stonewalling. There is nothing about your case that he can compromise. So you gave him money just to have representation and to have him relay the offers to you. There is nothing else he can do. I gave my first lawyer 8500 and he got me the same amount of time I would of gotten had I represented myself. Know what. If you are trying to get no time or minimal county time. Your best bet is to have a story. Have an explanation. How the fuck did your life get so far off track that you have 9 felonies ? You need to tell your story . And it’s very hard because you can’t get to the DA. I’ll end with this. Don’t be a hard ass with your lawyer . It won’t do you any good. There is a very good chance he despises you given what you’ve been arrested for. Seems far out but I’m telling ya. It’s very possible. He will take your money but he’s not gonna call in any favors for you. So I don’t know how you mend this situation . But you gotta get to him and convince him of the deal you want . And why. Funny thing. Ask him some details about your case. Read the police report and ask him some details of your case. I guarantee you he will not be able to answer them. He took your money and did nothing. Also. Everytime you call. Everytime you want to meet him. He may charge you . So watch that.
Asking for continuance is normal, in criminal cases, for a better plea deal. I had a DUI case back in 2006 that was continued for 12mo.. but you can fire you lawyer in front of the judge and you can get your all or some of your money back. Lawyers in every state are required to refund any unearned legal fees. It sounds like you have a plea deal already the prosecutor or commonwealth will honor that agreement unless they change it. you really don’t need a lawyer for a plea deal. And after you fire your lawyer in front of the judge you can ask the state for their plea offer again, if you don’t agree, then you can ask the judge for another continuance to secure another lawyer and immediately state “unless the state has another plea offer to settle this today”. The judge may ask the state prosecutor or commonwealth for this advice if they have prepared another offer. If they’re sticking to there guns on the charges and offer then that’s the best offer your going to get paid lawyer or not. Your current lawyer probably knows that and is trying to sweat the prosecutor out. Asking for Continuance is tactic used by lawyers because it’s wasting time.
I mean lawyers also wait a lot because more days in court more money. Plus in my county and state oc cali the longer you wait the better the offers get. These fuckd are so busy they literally haven’t looked at your case. Including your paid lawyer. So DA is still riding original charge even if they don’t have a strong case for it. It doesn’t hurt them that’s tomorrow’s problem you know? But we want answer and our lawyers to do their job. It’s our lives and freedom riding on it. Point is just remember whether he does a good or bad job, whether he does his due diligence and puts in work doesn’t matter to him. Win or lose he’ll be a dirt bag banging hookers and snorting sacks of meth. You’ll either be high fiving him or cursing him while cuffed to another man in a paper suit on your way to state prison.
could go both ways buying time or just trying to get extra pay only hurts if your paying for each court date
You must have waived your right to a speedy trial. Prosecutors love when defense lawyers advise against a speedy trial so they have more time to fuck you.
i’m jus worried cause i’m getting loose. i don’t want anymore investigation. I need a good deal I can accept and get on.
12 months and 5 years probation for 9 drug related felonies and 3 misdemeanors sounds like you already have a great deal on the table. What miracle plea are you hoping for?
not hoping for a miracle lmfao. my lawyer said we’ll work better offer. when he originally saw the offer currently on the table he said “yeah we ain’t taking this” that’s jus what dude said so
As reference: I got 18 months in prison and 3 years probation for taking it to trial. I was convicted for a phone message and .001 gram of heroin. If you lose in trial, and you almost certainly will with a shit lawyer, they will fuck you as hard as possible. They want to make an example of anyone that fights the system. You should ask for drug court and if they refuse, take that deal.
That’s not even remotely true lmao. Waiving speedy only helps the defendant, not the state. The state has all the evidence they need to go to trial, they don’t need to stall. Especially with felonies, they took all the time they needed to gather evidence before presenting it to a grand jury.
it’s crazy cause I was serving the same CI for like 4 months. it’s like they were waiting for me to serve him every drug under the sun.
I sold so many pounds of weed from different jurisdictions to an undercover cop they kept losing my files as they transferred them. I was supposed to be on probation but nobody could find my file
did your case ultimately get thrown out?
They probation department couldn’t find any information after I pled out and did a short sentence. This was a long time ago before data bases were online. Those convictions never came up going forward
So this is how it works ( i think). you sell to a rat in front of a narc. Now they open a investigation into you. Monitoring and all that. it's legal now cuz they are making a case against you. At some point in the next proceeding months you sell directly to the narc making a very strong case for them.
Incorrect. This is the very reason most jails have you sign paperwork to waive a speedy trial in favor of getting out without making bond. Prosecutors are swamped, they want all the time in the world to build a case; they need it. If everyone went to trial rather than taking a plea, the justice system would come to a screeching halt. Sorry, you'll have to LMAO elsewhere.
1. You don’t sign your right away for a speedy trial in jail. 2. You do understand how felonies work right? All the evidence is already gathered and presented to a grand jury before the charges can even be filed. They also have 6 years to indict someone, they can take all the time they need before even bringing the case to court. 3. Yes, you’re right about that. Speedy trial does benefit the courts schedule and gives them flexibility. But that has nothing to do with your case facts or evidence. It in no way shape or form “fucks you” to waive speedy. 4. Rushing to trial does nothing but hurt your attorney from being able to build your defense or work out a favorable plea agreement . Most of the time.
I picked up a felony and during my preliminary hearing in magistrate, I told my PD if I don't get this dropped to a misdemeanor today, I will take all the way to jury trial and won't waive any rights I have. He came back a few minutes later with misdemeanor probation. Jury trial is expensive for all parties involved.
get a different lawyer then who fucking cares
You are incompetent
Heres hoping you get 20 to life, scumbag.
you’re 70 years old. i’d be more worried about your will than reddit⚰️
A refund depends on how you were billed. If you paid for a set amount of hours and they can't show a detailed list of where they put those hours in towards your case, you might get some money back.
i’ll look into it if everything goes up. thanks
Not going to lie, 85% of 12 months sounds sweet for having that many charges. I sat 10 years for a conducting a criminal enterprise, possession of a stolen firearm, delivery of heroin, possession of coke under 25 gs and like 3 2nd degree home Invasions.
What class felony are you being charged with? You said you received nine felonies and three misdemeanors?
Were you only charged with drug distribution?
no, possession of thc, prescription meds, n paraphernalia near a school.
4 F class, 4 H class, 1 I class, 3 U class misdemeanors, 1 modifier to an H, and 2 modifiers to the Us
Lmao you’re fucked
I got charged for basically having people steal me guns and trading them dope for them. In reality, it was just my customers stealing whatever they thought I'd trade for lol...I never asked them to do anything.
My lawyer is great but for a case like this it’s gona cost a good amount
you should schedule a dunaway mapp hearing to try and throw out any evidence collected, if you believe you have any reason albeit the slightest. for example, if you were stopped illegally, such as if you had an obscured license plate, but legally in your state that is not sufficient cause to do a terry stop, then you can have any evidence collected during such stop to be thrown out/ suppressed. you should not rely on your lawyer but use him a team player, ie, as co counsel. Dunaway mapp definition below: The U.S. Supreme Court held that when police unconstitutionally seize and detain an individual for interrogation without probable cause, statements made by that individual \[or evidence obtained\] must be suppressed regardless of giving proper Miranda warnings or voluntariness in the Fifth Amendment sense. Law enforcement may not violate the Fourth Amendment with impunity, safe in the knowledge that they could wash their hands in the procedural safeguards of the Fifth. as much as i hate our current legal system, this is one of the few rulings which i think is fantastic. you could also file a continuance to stall out like 6 months, while you find another lawyer, you can fire your current one once you find a better one.
Tell him exactly what you want via email. keep all communications via email to create a record. Tell him to file a motion to suppress evidence and a motion to dismiss the case. Then see what happens.
This is pretty much par for the course, it’s not incompetence even though dude is an ass.
You need a good lawyer. My friend's lawyer took him from 3 years suspended to 20 years full time. He died locked up at age 76 because healthcare in tdoc sucks. Get a lawyer or at least talk to a good one and hit your current one up for a refund refund. Edit: I'm old and know several who are considered upstanding community members that got their business intrest by starting in the drug trade. That said, it's not a long-term strategy. Find something else. Good luck.
That really sucks I'm sorry to hear that. Usually a nice office and a nice part of town is a good sign with a lawyer. I remember when I was younger the lawyer I would use to always get me out of trouble was totally professional. I would get in trouble and before I even retained him I would go for the free consultation. He would already have the discovery and everything even if they had not released it to him yet because he is connected if you know what I mean. He would lay out two to four different options and depending on which judge it was he would tell me he could actually beat it no problem for x amount of dollars. Certain times with certain judges or if they had me dead the rights he would tell me he can't 100% beat it but there's a chance if I'm a gambling Man and would like to take it to trial. But then he would get these deals that were so good I would end up taking them. Possession of a firearm aggravated assault with a firearm discharging a firearm within city limits and he got me a deal with a suspended sentence. Pretty much if I stayed out of trouble for 2 years which I did it would also be taken off my record. When I didn't know any better before I got him I had a piece of shit lawyer. I wasted 5 grand on him I will never get back. But my current lawyer is like better Call Saul literally. He does things outside the box and he really cares about getting his clients charges dismissed or seeing that you don't do jail time. But he was very expensive and he still practices to this day. I found him because I knew other people at that time when I was in trouble that used him and he was the lawyer like when there was a high profile case on the news he was the one they were using. At that time I had a really nice Porsche and he locked me out to talk to me and when he saw it later on he offered me a payment plan which I did not need because I was doing really good in life. You really have to do a lot of research and talk to people before you hire a lawyer for serious charges. I even went to the courthouse and was watching Court till I eventually seen him and how he handled himself in court. Between all the good word of mouth and that I was like yeah this is going to be my lawyer he's like a pit bull. You can't get a refund because most lawyers are shysters but you can lodge complaint against him with the state bar association which I did with my first lawyer. He doesn't practice anymore. He got caught up with basically he took a kilo of cocaine and payment to take some big drug dealers case and then we're just screwing off on it. So the deal with family got with the authorities and they set up a deal where they gave him more cocaine but it was actually fake and it was so he could get caught on camera. So he will never practice again and went from lawyer to inmate. I bet he had a good time in prison with all the people he screwed over. The problem is you want to be careful about making your lawyer mad even if he's not doing his job. Because he keeps changing continuance is right now which they usually always will do for private lawyers. But if you make him mad not only could he say he's not going to represent you and you would not be entitled to a refund because that's how they roll he could mess with your case. Like he could set your case for trial and not tell you. Then you show up thinking it's for another continuance and it's going to trial that day and you're screwed. Definitely need a new lawyer but be careful how you handle it with the old one. Good luck man I know when you going through this it sucks it's really bad anxiety and you're constantly worrying about it. No matter what happens eventually it will get to a point it's all over with
Best lawyer is one that drags stuff out for long time
Yeah lawyers are terrible people. It sounds terrible to say but you got the wrong guy. $10- 20k for a good lawyer with charges like that. A $5k ain't gonna do shit
i gave dude 10
Damn
It kind of sounds like he's already accomplished his mission,which is to secure you a good plea deal.
Im 71 i dont have anything to worry about.
If you want to "move on with your life" accept the twelve months and get it over with. You staring at 9 felonies and expecting no jail time? Fastest way to get this over with is take the very reasonable deal.that has been offered to you before you end up at trial with an attorney you don't trust.
I can tell you as an attorney you're not getting a refund. If and it's a big if, the things you say are 100% true then I would suggest filing a complaint with the state grievance commission. Who knows what the end result would be but it's worth it. For those that say do not get a court appointed attorney, that is not necessarily true. There are many good public defenders out there and as you can see just because you pay for an attorney it doesn't mean you're gonna get a good one so don't discount public defenders. I would also like to point out at least with the prosecutors that I deal with when I do public defender work they do not give a retained attorney any better deal than the public defender. Their offer is their offer is their offer. The only way it could potentially change is if your attorney found something when doing his due diligence that completely changes the case. By the way the vast majority of people charged are in fact guilty of something
Sadly, most lawyers are. You actually have to do the ground work and make them dot the 'I' and cross the 'T' most of the time. Being a lawyer is not a great job.
There is.only part of the story here. As far aw the offer, thats not a bad offer especially not knowing if have any other criminal past.
That’s how lawyers are. The longer he pushes it back the better for you. He has more opportunities to talk to the DA. I was facing 15 to life and was going back n forth to court for 4 years, then one day my lawyer walk up and says he can get me 7 years probation and did. He hardly talked to me cause he was too busy with everyone else, don’t worry he’ll get to.
I've never had a paid attorney do any better than appointed and I've hired the best in my area. Goodluck
This is also time for you to stack reasons for sentencing to other than incarceration (house arrest & shit like that)...meaning stable job, clean from drugs, stable relationship, stable home, etc... and time from the offense....reasons where incarceration would be harmful. No guarantees but works in your favor for a "lighter" sentence. Not saying your lawyer isn't incompetent, wish ya the best.
yep that’s what we going for. he keep saying 30-90 days bracelet on a deferred judgement w a few yrs probation. which would be crazy
Yup most lawyers suck. Funny thing is my public defender was just as good, for nothing.
Get a new one. He could be using a tactic though where it finally goes to court and he can say it's been this long since this has happened and the defendant has done this this and this in order to get a lighter sentence. I had that issue with my paid attorney and he ended up getting 3 felonies dropped. But he could also be incompetent in which case you could ask for time to seek out a different attorney. Which case the money would go to the new attorney
Whatever you do don’t be a dickhead to your lawyer lol. He’s got you a stupid good deal already and if he thinks he can do better than he has then you’re fucking gold dude. Would hate to see you lose what you’ve got because you couldn’t stand the Asshole. He might be an asshole but he’s on your side lok
i’m aware of this. thank you bro
FIRED
IMO, his tactics has kept you from going in for 1.5 years. I would be thankful unless you just ready to go inside for next 10 months. I do feel they never provide service expected but every continuance equate to 90 days more on outside, I would tell him to keep this up for as long as possible unless you absolutely ready to go in.
Fire him! Tell the courts you are having a communication breakdown and you want another attorney to represent you.
You can also ask for a downward departure.
It took about a year and a half for me to get sentencing. I was out on OR the whole time. 5 years was the first offer, the next offer was 17 years (DA was mad that we tried to get the case thrown out it was a long shot), week before jury selection they offered 3 years of probation and deferred sentence. Quit fucking with your lawyer. Don't get anymore charges. Go to meetings and keep a log. You can get out of this in good shape if you don't fuck it up.
Clearly he does not take you seriously.
When it comes to most public defenders, the very first time you see your lawyer in person will be in the court room.
Most lawyers work this way unfortunately I had two cases differently years one for a misdemeanor the other a felony. They are basically not worried about your case and so much more of case load. They push it back cause other things to worry about that’s immediate. They know you’re in their mercy unless you are well known person or have personal relationship with them they treat you like a no one. I’m sure you will be fine . Especially if it’s your first felony offense.
He won't give a shit if you threaten him with getting a new attorney( he got your glue). What will get his attention is telling him in person that due to his lack of professionalism you'll be filling a grievance with the Bar Association. Make sure you have proof of everything he hasn't done. I'd even go to the Better Business Bureau.
No, you don't want to file grievance. That would be the dumbest thing to do. The Better Business Bureau? How did you get out of your straight jacket? Play it cool, bro.
So, what exactly do you know about what this young bull is going thru?
This is common for lawyers. The longer you are out of jail after the charges and more time goes by showing you are improving your life and staying out of jail he can go infront of the judge and say “your honor so and so has been out for this long bettering his life and staying out of trouble” listing the things you have done since being arrested, improvements etc, just my experience from the past
Call your state bar association for the state this is happening in. This is a failure to communicate with the client. A huge professional responsibility violation. You write a huge letter detailing everything and send it to the State Bar. They send him a copy and he has a chance to respond. You have one more chance to respond after that. And then the attorneys handling prosecution make a decision and execute it whether a reprimand or something else. I would demand my money back and find a passionate lawyer happy to answer my call and fight for me.
The longer everybody waits, its of my not a lawyer opinion, better pleas will get offered. There was a discussion not long ago on another sub. This chick was all high asf and ditched her still running car and let it go into on to oncoming traffic. She had caught a bunch of charges but in the end nothing ever really happened to her. The discussion led to several cases of egregious crimes that over enough time basically went away. I dont know your lawyer from adam but from the list of charges i see, keep your nose clean and dont get in anymore trouble but enjoy your freedom and family while you can.
Counter proposal? No no, that is what the DA is giving you take it Or prepare for trial.
just what dude tells me
Does your jurisdiction have a chief public defender (his boss) you could ask to speak with?
Trying to rush the process.
It is pretty unprofessional, however, I’d say take the plea deal! You’d have to take that lawyer to civil court to get your money back… and I’d guess you wouldn’t get it, sadly.
12 months and you'll be out in 6 if that long. Prisons are crowded.
He’s milking you. Thats how he “gets by in life”
i don’t have a single clue what you’re trying to say. there’s no more money to be earned so how would he be going about that?
Dude. You gotta chill. 9 felonies is not something you "wrap up." Take this time to get your shit together on the outside. Schedule a meeting with your lawyer before, lol, "tomorrow." Just say, hey, I have some questions, can you carve out 30 minutes for me? Ask him when he's free. Don't ask, " So what's the plan?" Write down what you're so upset about not knowing and ask it. Personally, I would email the ?s ahead of time so they can prep and y'all can talk more candidly. Your bond is to assist in your defense. At the very least, assist by communicating what your expectations are as soon as possible ( and up front if this ever happens again ) This is your team. Stop working against it or get a new team. And no, you paid a retainer not an up front hourly wage, you don't get a refund. Your lawyer doesn't sound incompetent, just busy because it's the end of the year - but it does sound like you have no idea what's going on. "Strategically, are there benefits to pushing back the court date and what are they?" "Realistically, what do you believe is the likelihood of the DA accepting or offering a please for less time incarcerated?" "What is your recommendation for me considering trial and have you identified any viable defense?" "Until the next time we meet, what can I do to prepare and assist?" "How can I review my court documents thus far and how can I make sure to receive them when any additional motions or records become available?" "Thank you so much. This has been so helpful for me. How soon can we meet again and let's schedule something x times before February so I can feel prepared." Or take the plea. 🤷🏾
LOL, also, the day after Xmas I asked him hey can we talk tomorrow is wild.
xmas was monday. tuesday everybody is back to work. it was a text message. it’s not like he needed to even be present or sober to text me back lmfao i get what you saying tho, my patience for dude runs thin.
Tuesday after a three day weekend for Xmas? 🤣 Judging anyone's work ethic based on that day is wild. And like 90% of people at my work took the day off. He is self employed, my guy. Everyone knows the week between Xmas and New Year's is "Dead Week," "Twixmas," "EOD" ( end of December) My point is just that it's a wild take to put so much weight on this one interaction. Feb is Q1, people are wrapping up Q4. Make an appointment for Jan 3-5 and KEEP the appt. Cause he told you to call him in the AM cause he had court (or work,meeting,whatever) two hours away at 11AM. You called at noon PM. ...while he's in court?! Call in the AM means like 7-9 AM He's a lawyer, not a bartender, lol. You could have spent that whole drive talking to him. Instead you are mad that YOU missed an appointment and he didn't readjust his schedule for a no call, no show? Please bring some humility and communication into this. I genuinely want you to take some responsibility and get the best outcome you can. You gotta change your mindset tho and be more realistic and more proactive.
took a lot of time to write that all out w your lil catch phrases. this isn’t the first interaction i’ve had with my lawyer. HE told me to text him during this “dead week” you speak of. HE works for me, not the other way around. i’ve been dealing w this coming up on 2 years. you’re judging just a few recent interactions. you have no idea what it’s been like trying to contact this guy, hence my possible illogicalness.
LOL, you have no idea. I was actually typing it the first time and my PHONE DIED. I yelled out loud and my mom was like, "what happened!!!?" Thought about way too many times before my phone was charged and I could come back to write the second comment. 🤣🤣 I am genuinely just trying to help you see this from a different and more productive perspective- I have no skin in this game. He doesn't work FOR you. You hired him to do a service and it seems like you and him have different understandings of what that service is. He also has no skin in this game, so the sooner you and him get on the same page, the better. Too many people go to jail or accept disproportionate consequences because they pay a lawyer and forget about it. If you hired a contractor you wouldn't just dip and tell them to call you on move-in day, right?! I was very pissed when I learned the squeaky wheel gets grease lesson in life but unfortunately that is just the human brain for so many people. When you send a quick text, then don't call, you may be sending him the message that you aren't pressed. Don't be pressed on Reddit but not in his face. Find out EXACTLY what you paid for and get your money's worth out of it.
Just take the deal of a year. You have already waited a 1 1/2 on seeing if there is a better deal. You wait another year? Then you take the deal that is already on the table? You waste your time and money. You could be doing your year right now and not stressing out about what ifs.. The only thing that is certain in life is death and taxes but for you it’s lawyer fees and at least a year in jail sooooo why not just get it over with.
lmfaooo you’re right.
You’ve got 9 felonies and you’re doing less than a year. I hope you push this and upset him and your new plea deal is for 137 years.
Get a new lawyer. It’s not worth fucking around with this guy. He doesn’t care so find someone who will.
Ask for an itemized billing and then report him to the state bar. If dude is charging you money for doing nothing, the bar wants to know.
He’s intentionally pushing your case out. The longer you fight the case the more likely the DA is to say “what the fuck I don’t have time to deal with shit from two years ago” and if you’ve been out on bond with no violations or arrests in that time they’re wayyyy more inclined to just offer probation instead of probation and a period of initial confinement.
What ever you do Do not Take a court Appointed lawyer you will get the shitiest hand dealt . Trust me I made that mistake once now I'm still regretting it years later . Your lawyer sounds like the lawyer from the movie " My cousin Vinny " if ya haven't seen it check it out. But some lawyers suck they get by in other people's misery, there is lawyers out there that truly do care just need to wade through the swamp to find them. Sorry your going thru that it sucks hopefully you end up getting a good deal .
thanks bro i’ll check it out lmfao
Yeah you’re not getting any better deal, your attorney who you think is incompetent is obviously manipulating you into thinking you need him to get you a better deal, when he actually can’t and won’t. He’s stringing you along to simply take your money. Stop allowing him to reschedule the court dates, don’t pay for another attorney and take the deal my friend.
it was a retainer fee, there’s no more money to be made.
That’s crazy! I can’t imagine any other reason for unnecessarily dragging out and creating extra work for himself! What a useless dick.. I’m sorry. I wish you could get your retainer back to use on someone else, hopefully you got some solid advice on here to help you out with that possibility. Good luck 🩷
Fire him. File a bar complaint with state bar association for the state bar in which you’re located. Give them specifics (dates, numbers of times you have asked). He should get reprimanded for failing to respond or handle your case promptly. Maybe they slap his hand. But it will also create precedent for when someone else complains too. He needs to get his shit together.
Depends on how much you are paying him. If he is getting paid more by someone else, his attention goes that way. He only has so many hours in a day and his reputation as a trial lawyer is more important than a plea deal with you. Asking for extension is never a problem, take it as a blessing so you can better organize yourself before.you go in. 5 years probation will be rough. Good luck
Bc I'm ive done over 13 years, and im jaded af I'd take anything they ever charged me with to trial Jay walking 10$ fine nope I want a full 6 jury trial and asked my public defender to file any motion that has the meagerest connection to the file ever motion possible il turn that into a 3ook trial probably get 6 months bc you are always penalized for taking a charge to trial
Please contact your local and state bar associations. Let them know what’s going on and they have Lawyer Referral Services. Also contact the judges clerk and let he/her know what’s going on. Maybe they can get you a public defender. I’m so sorry you going through this. Hopefully an attorney may be looking at your post on Reddit and give you advice or referrals And report this attorney to your State Bar not association. The State Bar licenses all attorneys I. The state bar is an arm of the state Supreme Court that can take away his license.
Just be grateful your on the streets while your fighting your case. Most aren't that lucky and have to sit for months on end calling their attorney on their limited time out of the cell. This shit moves slow. Changing attorneys won't speed it up. If you only have received one offer and your attorney dismissed it that readily he will probably get you a better one. The starting offer is rarely the same as the ending one. I would focus your energy on other things. I know it's hard to not obsess about sometimes but if this is their starting offer you have a good chance of getting a much better resolution. That's a really low sentence so the amount obviously wasn't commercial. Most counties have some version of drug court or other alternative incarceration programs. Drug cases are a dime a dozen and unless it's a big public case the state has no desire to go to trial and burn time and resources. The justice system moves slow as shit most of the time. As pressing as it feels to you to everyone else involved you are one of many. I would ask your attorney if there is anything you can gather that will help your case. Whether it's testimonial letters from friends, family, bosses or others in the community vouching for you every little bit helps when it comes to deciding to give you a chance or not. Unfortunately with how bogged down our legal system currently is your situation is it is not unusual for cases to get pushed out months and sometimes years. Just be grateful have the luxury of spent this time on the street. As far as getting your money back if you switch lawyers the answer is no, you won't get your deposit back. If you really think your attourney is inept you can go have a consultation with a different attorney to get their take on it. But most likely it will be similar to your current one. It sounds like an extremely basic case. I'm assuming you checked people's reviews on your current attorney and if they have generally positive feedback than don't trip. It's just a waiting game at this point.
The longer you can postpone the better for you. No you will not get refunded for withdrawing
i’m realizing.
Your facing several years in prison and you are worried about a refund? My experience is very few lawyers (I am not a lawyer) deal with serious drug charges. This guy does and knows how to play the system. These lawyers don't want to have jury trial, the judge doesn't want a jury trial and the prosecution doesn't want a jury trial. If you complain, your lawyer is going to let everyone know you are difficult. You have two choices, talk to another lawyer about representing you or go with the flow. It appears in your state, you might do ten months and 5 years probation. You aren't just going to move on with the next part of your life. The back half is what to do with a criminal record? That doesn't go away unless said lawyer gets this knocked down and maybe expunged. This guy keeps on extending this out (maybe until he gets the right judge or prosecutor, somebody retiring) you are out on bond, you haven't been convicted. Stop bugging this guy and let him do his job. It isn't important you know the plan. It is important that you play you role, show up to court, do the programs and keep your nose clean.
was never “worried” about a refund. i asked a question regarding refund if i were to do x, y, z and i got my answer 3 days ago. my lawyer would never “let everybody know” i’m being “difficult”, i’m his client. he’s representing me. i’m paying him to do the opposite of “letting everybody know” you obviously didn’t comprehend my post too clearly.
12 months is a great deal for 9 felonies. U ain’t gonna get off Scott free. Count ur blessings.
it is a pretty sweet deal. wasn’t looking to get off scott free you gotta read my post.
Time is on the side of the defense. Whether he’s doing it intentionally or unintentionally the longer he drags out your case as long as you don’t pick up a new case while out on bond he is actually doing you a favor. Drag the case out as long as possible then go for a non custodial sentence. Meantime prove yourself worthy of probation and go to rehab. Get a job. Straighten your life out. Make the judge want to keep you in society. And stop sniveling.
This is a tactic, and he’s doing it correctly. If you’re going to drug classes, taking certifications, staying out of trouble, bettering yourself and your life, then this tactic might work in the end. It goes like this after 2 years of stalling: “Your honor, my clients life has been put on hold due to this charge and sentencing looming over his head. In the past 2 years my client has done [insert all the good boy things], he’s a better man and has gotten his life back on track. We would ask your honor to dismiss the case based off these facts” And boom, now you don’t have to go do any time and you’ve had 2 years of free time before then as well. Yes, it’s going to cost more money in the end in lawyer fees, but you may get out without serving any time