Information and Insight on Criminal Law and Civil Rights
On the way to a little county jail near the Oregon and Idaho state line one morning last fall I was listening to Collin Cowherd on ESPN radio. He made the point that he loves teams that "know who they are." Example – Boise State Broncos – he says that Chris Peterson and the boys know they are a team…
Continue Reading Outside the Law – Do YOU Know Who You Are and Where You Are Going?
Springtime brings those new flowers and an increased number of calls last week inquiring about whether the caller should hire a lawyer or use the public defender. Now I have to admit that I often ask myself what extra benefit the "private" lawyer brings to a particular case. I was a public defender when I started this some twenty-eight years ago…
Picking a lawyer is about as tough a decision as anyone ever has to make, so imagine if you are charged with a crime and you have to choose a lawyer to represent YOU! This past week another lawyer sent me a potential client who is charged with a felony. "Why me?" "Because Bob says that you have more experience…
Continue Reading Experience Matters If YOU Are The Defendant
Remember that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song that advised "… teach your children well… and feed them on your dreams…." Unfortunately, too often we teach our children that the police are only there to help, and that if they just tell the truth their problems will go away. So it was again this week when I met with a…
Continue Reading Teach Your Children Well … The Right To Remain Silent
There is this practice in small communities of hiring contract public defenders and paying them a "flat fee" to handle all of the counties’ indigent defense work. Say you are in "Little" County, and you get charged with burglary. You don’t have that rainy day fund, so you use the services of the public defender. He is paid by the…
Continue Reading Flat Fee Public Defender Malpractice – $3 million
It is early on a Sunday morning and I am in my office working. Sometimes this happens – I wake up and after fifteen or twenty minutes I know that I am not going back to sleep, so off I go to do a little work. Today I am listening to a tape recorded "interview" by a detective. The suspect is charged…
Continue Reading Top Three Rules If The Detectives Want To Talk To You – Especially In A Sex Crime!
Tis the season for increased traffic patrols – and DUI arrests in Boise, Idaho. The Statesman reports that between Friday night and Sunday afternoon forty-nine persons were arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Suppose for a minute that you are one of those forty-nine. Any criminal charge is expensive and the outcome important enough…
Continue Reading Five Questions To Ask The Lawyer Before You Sign That Retainer
This morning I get a new client who brings a letter he received from another lawyer, and "Former Deputy Prosecutor" building his DUI practice. Here is part of the other lawyer’s pitch:
"You need legal help. The criminal process is very complex. Once you have been charged with a DUI, you have 7 DAYS to take action to avoid immediate…
Continue Reading Can You Tell The Difference Between Lawyers – Part Two
Ben Glass is this amazing lawyer who also understands marketing. You know, selling yourself and your services. The word "Guru" aptly applies to Ben and I have been reading a lot of his info lately as I try to work on my own marketing. For years I just lived on my reputation. "Hey, aren’t you that lawyer I see on…
Continue Reading Can You Tell The Difference Between Lawyers
I had a call from a man whose son was facing serious criminal charges, and like each of us he was worried about the economic crisis. "I might just let him use the public defender this time, " he said. "Money is awfully tight! Can you give me one reason why I should hire you?" Here are three reasons to…
Continue Reading Top Three Reasons To Hire Your Own Lawyer – Especially Now