Choosing a Lawyer.
The bottom line is that you want a competent lawyer that you feel comfortable with. You will want a lawyer that you can get ahold of and who returns his calls.Â
Other things you may want to consider.Â
- You want a lawyer that has the staff to help you when he or she is unreachable. For example, there are always things that come up when your lawyer is in trial on another case.Â
- You want a lawyer that takes the time to stay current on the law.
- You want a lawyer who has trial experience and isn’t afraid to get some more. Even if your case is going to result in a plea, the prosecutors know which lawyers are plea dogs and which ones will hold their feet to the fire (and their recommendations show it.)
- You want a lawyer who knows the Judges, the Prosecutors and other court staff around the courthouse. It can only help.
- Fees. Everyone wants a bargain. But you get what you pay for. A lawyer who charges less, must work more cases to make the same money. Therefore, they may not have the time to work the case the way you want or to do some of the things listed here.
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August 22nd, 2006 at 4:55 pm
My husband has been wrongfully accused. He went in DA;s office to ask questions about why we could not get a judge to set a bond for him on Friday @ 3:30p.m. Monday @ 6:00 I awaken to beating on my bedroom window. I go to door with very little clothing on they yank door open push me out of the way going down hallway they push past me to go into my bedroom where my husband is they arrest him for criminal trespass for going into the DA’s office. They did not read him his rights, they did not tell him he was even being arrested and would not tell either of us untilthey had him in handcuffs. Booked in, bonded out 45 minutes later he’s @ work. 3:30 deputies at door again with search warrant. For guns. They said do you have guns in house I said you know I do. We’re here to take them. I said you can take them but I will get them back. He said your husband is a convicted felon. I said those are my guns and they are registered to me I bought those guns. And besides that me and my husband are not living together. He said well he was here this morning, I said yes and we are married so the way I see it we can sleep together wherever we want. About that time he pulled up at his house which is down behind mine. My son met him told him what was going on since there was several officers there. He turned and started back to his house whe n one of the deputies run up and punched him in the back of the head several times. Then another one came and they bulldogged him into the fender of my work van and caved it in. They then slammed him face first to the ground and 2 more run up and started kicking him while I was screaming for them to stop because he had a medical condition that they were aware of he had a blood clot to the brain and 7 days later had a stroke from accident 3yrs ago. They said they did not care if he had medical condition or not. He started having convulsions and a seizure so they had to call ambulance, stayed at hospital for 5 hours. Refused to let me see him, transferred to jail. Stayed there from Monday to Wednesday night before they would give bond. And all because we were trying to find out some information about our son that is also in that jail and was setup by one of the deputies there. Even magistrate would not let me present proof before issuing warrant for aggravated stalking.Our son is still in that jail and has been for 3 weeks this past Monday. I need a lawyer.
December 11th, 2006 at 1:58 am
My son, Roman G. Adams was charged with reckless conduct for brandishing a firearm, to difuse a life threatening situation in Pickens Co.,GA. See wwwpickensprogress.com-messageboard & wwwjaspersucks.com; posts by Glenn Adams for more info. If this story wasn’t so tragic, it would make a great “My Cousin Vinny” sequel.
He has a good attorney in Marietta where we are from, but due to homecooking and his attorney’s busy schedule. He hired a local attorney, who went to law school in SF, Cal., passed bar 1st attempt, kin to local judges and high powered attorneys, interned in Pickens Co Courthouse, 1st case tried, etc.
The charges were trumped up to 7 felonies & 1 misd. I feel these charges were retribution for Roman threatening to call in the GBI when a knife wielding ex-con was not arrested for attacking him in his pawn shop a few months earlier. Roman asked his attorney several times if he should get him some assistance, & he said, no.
Roman was convicted of 3 counts of aggravated Assault, and sent a Maximum Security Prison. Apeal was filed. 1st; wrong font, 2nd; not double spaced 3rd; reviewed by 3rd circuit, Atl. Results; many errors, but were not reserved, pertinent subpoena not included with apeal. HELP!!!
Roman said he knew he had problems when his attorney started crying while pleading with the judge to get a cousins sentence shortened..
December 18th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Judge Hilton Fuller, was visiting judge who tried this case.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Roman has served over 9 monyhs of his one year sentence in a maximum security prison. The crime he was convicted for seems to only be a misdemeanor. (Search: Judge Haywood Turner, Columbus, GA). He will not be considered for early release because brandishing a weapon is considered a violent crime. Roman is married with 3 children..
April 1st, 2007 at 10:36 am
These comments prove that what Rob said is true. You get what you pay for. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to go back and fix mistakes made by some other lawyer who charges some small fee and had no idea what he or she was doing. There is a reason why those lawyers charge so little!
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Mr. Hollaway, The fee Roman’s Attorney charged was $250.00 per hour. I hardly consider this a paultry fee.
When asked by me, why did he not do any investigation, he replied, ” I was trying to save him money.”
I recently learned that attorneys fresh out of law school are assigned mentors to assist them until they gain experience.
Roman was charged with brandishing a firearm. We were aware that pointing a gun in GA is a misdemeanor, See: Judge Haywood Turner; Columbus, GA.
I agree that we if we had found this website before Roman’s trial, we would have done many things differently. Thanks for your comment.