my son has to go to court on the 15th and they are trying to get him on a bunch of lies. some is true but most are lies and he will not plead guilty to lies. i need a pro bono lawyer in fulton missouri and i have no idea how to find one. the closest to us doesnt deal with this kind of case. please tell me what i should do. we have no money for this
2007-04-27 12:28:09 · 12 answers · asked by wlfbelcher 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
we tried the ones the court gives and they didnt do anything but get him in worse trouble the last time. they didnt talk to any of the witnesses we had
2007-04-27 12:31:39 · update #1
I hate to say it but you get what you pay for. Most public defenders have a small budget to work with and too many cases to handle. So you are not going to get top-notch service.
You CAN'T let your son appear in court without a lawyer. So you need one quickly. I will include some leads at the end of this essay.
You should hire a Private Investigator to interview your witnesses. He or she will know how to handle a legal case in your favor.
If your son did some of the crimes that he is charged with then other crimes that were charged against him could bring on additional charges. If not then the prosecutor is using the old stand by of charging him with as many charges as they can. Your best bet would be a private settlement made between your son with his lawyer and the prosecutor. This is how most cases are settled, not at a trial. Hire a PI and have him get sworn statements from your witnesses. This will give you proof to repute some of the charges. You can then try and make a deal on the remaining charges.
A good result would be one that has a probated sentence. Such a sentence is a length of jail time that your son is sentenced to, but he is allowed to do that sentence while free. If he does anything illegal or if he violates the conditions of his parole then he will be sent to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. Your son will have to see the parole officer on a regular basis (usually monthly). Your son will also have to pay the parole officer something. Monetary damages are often attached to repair the damage the crime did or to just pay for the parole. It isn’t fair, but then life isn’t fair. I don’t know what the charges are going to be that will have to be decided in your discussion with the prosecutor. Remember that if you don’t like the deal proposed by the prosecutor you could always turn it down and have the prosecutor set a trial date. Because running a trial takes time and money few prosecutors want to go through the hassle, which is why they are willing to deal.
Sites for Free legal advice in the US:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-49,GGLR:en&q=Free+Legal+advice
http://www.lawhelp.org/
http://www.freeadvice.com/all_topics.htm
http://www.lawinfo.com/
http://www.lsc.gov/about/grantee_links.php
http://www.thelaw.com/
http://www.flac.ie/
http://www.legalsurvival.com/
2007-04-27 12:47:47 · answer #1 · answered by Dan S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When he goes to court, tell the judge that you would like a court appointed attorney. They will give you a form to fill out listing your hourly wage, living expenses, etc. If it is found that you qualify (and most people do) you will be appointed an attorney at little or no cost to you and your son's court date will be extended (usually 30 days) to give you and the attorney time to work something out.
~*~ Added~*~
You most likely will not find a lawyer willing to take you on pro-bono. When an attorney does something pro-bono it's usually a case that they think will get them a lot of good publicity. Helping out a kid that has been in a lot of trouble in the past is not going to do this for them. Why would they waste their time helping someone that isn't willing to help themself?
2007-04-27 12:31:37 · answer #2 · answered by i_just_wondering 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plead poverty and have the court either assign the Public Defender's office or a pro bono lawyer to defend your son.
2007-04-27 12:32:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can contact the State Bar Association, and ask them to point you toward an attorney, who will handle your case, or you can ask the court to appoint a Public Defender. In some areas, there may also be some form of Legal Aid Office, which you can contact.
2007-04-27 12:32:20 · answer #4 · answered by Beau R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your son, if he is an adult, or you need to contact the judge. You ned to call his clerk and tell him you have no money to form a defense and ask the court to appoint a lawyer for his defense. Ask fo rthe specific procedure and follow it exactly. If you need more time ask that the hearing be deferred until you can make contact with your lawyer and prepare a defense. Do this on Monday morning.
2007-04-27 12:31:57 · answer #5 · answered by tk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For one thing your son has to plead not guilty and he is also entitled to a trial so the judge has to appoint him a court appointed attorney because he cannot be tried without an attorney, they will want to see your income to see if you qualify i am sure you will just don't worry he will get an attorney from the court.
2007-04-27 12:41:16 · answer #6 · answered by Denny O 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a court appointed lawyer.
2007-04-27 12:30:01 · answer #7 · answered by Jake G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ask court for public defender
2007-04-27 12:31:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You fought the law and the law won.
2007-04-27 12:43:21 · answer #9 · answered by Mister Bald 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get your self a legal aid lawyer they are free
2007-04-27 12:32:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋