Probable Cause

Last week, a couple of insightful attorneys wrote posts regarding fees.  Brian Tannebaum, a hard-fighting criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida, discussed the effect the economy is having on clients trying to get money back from their attorneys — particularly after the attorney has, through his hard work, managed to keep them from being charged with crimes.

Scott Greenfield’s post notes that people believe the economy must be good for criminal defense attorneys, since they believe more people will commit crimes.  Scott not only debunks this myth, but notes the negative impact the Internet generally has had on hard-fighting criminal defense lawyers trying to feed their families.

Today, I was reminded of another perspective on this: the client who believes that since you successfully represented him in the past, he owns you for life.

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I really don’t want to do the whole “retrospective thing” on my year.  As other criminal defense attorneys have noted, things can sometimes be rough.  Besides, I get nervous about discussing my actual cases too much online.  Which would I focus on, anyway?

As Scott Greenfield pointed out, “We are engaged in a process that begs us to push back a tidal wave of misery.  And another tidal wave after that.”

But it seems that every criminal defense attorney — or anyone else who blogs — has to do the obligatory “end-of-the-year” post.

This is mine.

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Someone — the name does not matter — used my contact form, providing his opinion of his case, including what he believed to be important facts, and indicated he was looking for someone to give him a “second opinion.”  From what I could tell, he wasn’t sure he trusted his current attorney and wanted another attorney to tell him whether his attorney was doing the right thing.

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Many defense attorneys fail to consider the potential consequences a criminal case will have on their clients.  And even where a person has committed a crime, had a momentary lapse, or made a stupid mistake, and deserves “some kind of punishment,” that individual does not deserve to be deported and — as would have been the case for Joe A. — to be separated forever from his family.

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Not much time lately for serious posts, but I promise more soon.

Meanwhile, photographer Bob Marcotte, a friend of mine who owns Marcotte Photography, shot some images of me yesterday.  Click on the images to enlarge.

Bob sent over this next image with the words, “This is my lawyer…” in the subject line and “…go ahead.  Sue me.” in the text.

Bob Marcotte, of Marcotte Photography. Thanks, Bob!

Earlier today, I received a call from someone seeking an attorney to defend them on a charge of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.¹ One of the questions — a perfectly reasonable one — concerned my experience in defending DUIs.

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1. See California Vehicle Code § 23152 at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs /vctop/d11/vc23152.htm (last visited July 7, 2008). [↩]