My husband and I hired a lawyer to enter on a not guilty dwi case. My husband already went to court and entered his plea. It was set to go to trial. We hired a lawyer to go with him to trial. Trial date was rescheduled by the lawyer. Lawyer did not inform us on the new trial date, and did not go to court. Now there is a bond revocation hearing. The lawyer told the bondsman one thing, us another. He told us that he entered a guilty plea and had the license suspended for a year. We know for a fact that this is the outcome we would have gotten if we hadn't hired a lawyer. We could have done this on our own. What can we do? The lawyer wants $700 for two 20 minute phone calls, and changed my husband's plea without telling us.
2007-11-26 10:21:36 · 4 answers · asked by Kristin D 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I typed in DWI but I meant DWS (Driving While Suspended)
2007-11-26 11:28:57 · update #1
You need to get another attorney ASAP and then file a complaint against the other attorney with the state bar.
2007-11-26 10:33:48 · answer #1 · answered by lahockeyg 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you can substantiate the part about changing the plea without consent, contact your state's Attorney's Disciplinary Commission. You probably want to go to the local courthouse and get a copy of the complete case file before doing this. That should be provided to you at a reasonable copying cost. Then you can include actual copies with your letter. You don't need another lawyer to file the ADC complaint. The persons who work there, lawyers and others, are there to help the public.
2007-11-26 18:33:47 · answer #2 · answered by viciousvince2001 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You certainly should file a grievance with the the Bar Assoc., but that won't help you in court.
Have you contacted the Prosecutor? This atty. may have a reputation for this type of thing, & the Prosecuting atty. may feel in the interest of justice a new hearing should be filed. Do you have documentation from this lawyer to support his claims about his "services"? I'd send certified letters to all parties I contacted saying the same stuff as you do in phone calls.
Don't feel like the law is only out to get you. Iif they know whats happened, they may well see fit to help you. & if all else fails, check to see if you have a right to a trial by jury Sometimes talking with people in person makes more of an impact too. Did you get all the documents from the court, bondsman, atty., & prosecutor? Did you have a contract with the lawyer?
- you can always call the court clerk to make sure of any hearings set. They may have suggestions for you too....
I'd spend money to get the bond right before I played lawyer roulette again, but that's my personal opinion....
& get a bike! It would eliminate this problem in the future & help 'green' the planet.
2007-11-26 22:38:44 · answer #3 · answered by xplane 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hire another attorney and ask about it. He can't change your husbands plea without his consent. You may have a case against him. But just get the advice of another attorney to find out.
And I gaurantee the attorney you did hire did more than just 2 20 minute phone calls. He had to call the court, file paperwork, etc. But he did enter a plea that was against your wishes.
2007-11-26 18:28:03 · answer #4 · answered by Meghan 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋