Attn IAAL or other attorneys

[OnlyOneVoice]

What is the name of your state? TX

What would you recommend. My friend's son was involved in an accidental shooting. On the advice of his attorney he plead no contest to aggravated assault (he is a juvenile).

At the hearing, his attorney told him that he never read the offense reports or the statements of the other witnesses. He just believed that the complaint of recklessness was valid so he didn't persue any other avenue.

Does my friend have any recourse in the courts since her son plead no contest. He did so on the advice of an uninformed attorney.

Should she file an appeal, or should she lodge a complaint with the bar association??

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? TX

What would you recommend. My friend's son was involved in an accidental shooting. On the advice of his attorney he plead no contest to aggravated assault (he is a juvenile).

At the hearing, his attorney told him that he never read the offense reports or the statements of the other witnesses. He just believed that the complaint of recklessness was valid so he didn't persue any other avenue.

Does my friend have any recourse in the courts since her son plead no contest. He did so on the advice of an uninformed attorney.

Should she file an appeal, or should she lodge a complaint with the bar association??

**A: the case is over. File a complaint with the appropriate regulatory agency.

 

[calatty]

The only recourse he would have is to move to withdraw his plea. To succeed with that, he would have to show that he actually had a good defense that his attorney never told him about, presumably because he hadn't read the offense report. His own statement that the attorney told him he didn't read the offense report would not be enough, and it is difficult to believe anyway. How would he have known there was a charge of recklessness unless he had read the report? If there is anything even the laziest criminal attorney does, it is skim over the police report.