Today I had a client walk into my office asking if I could get his Guilty plea to domestic violence set aside.
In this particular case my client was charged with Domestic Violence for grabbing his ex-wife’s cell phone in the middle of an argument.
My client was provided a court appointed attorney in a District Court. This court appointed attorney “strongly encouraged” my client to plead Guilty.
My client did not want to plea. He advised me that he informed his attorney that his ex-wife was lying and that he wanted a trial. Perhaps this attorney did not like trying cases, but for whatever reason he pressured my client into entering a guilty plea.
When my client asked the Judge for a new court appointed attorney, the Judge refused his request. Reluctantly, my client entered a plea of “No Contest” believing that he would be sentenced to no more then 12 months of non-reporting probation.
Now of course my client was sentenced to 24 months of reporting probation has to undergo anger management, drug testing and every other program that the the court could conceive of. Also included in his costs and fees is reimbursement for his “Court Appointed” attorney.
There is a lesson to be learned here.
A court appointed attorney is not necessarily a free attorney. In most cases when you are sentenced, reimbursement of a court appointed attorney is included in the judgment of sentence. Even if you are found not guilty you may get a bill in the mail.
So my question to anyone faced with criminal charges is this: If you have to pay for your attorney, shouldn’t you get to pick your attorney?
I would suggest that anyone facing criminal charges call several attorneys. You many not be able to afford Geoffrey Fieger, but there are many hardworking, compassionate, and experienced attorneys without a big name who are willing to take your case for an affordable rate. The mere fact that an attorney charges more or has a big name does not mean that the attorney is any more qualified than an attorney you have never heard of.
I also want to be clear that my point is not to say that all court appointed attorneys are bad attorneys. There are many excellent court appointed attorneys (I myself take court appointments in Oakland County).
However, for many people facing a criminal charge may very well be the most stressful event of their life. At the very least, your attorney should not add to that stress.
If that means paying for an attorney, then it is money well spent.
