Legal for court appointed attorney to withdraw??

[erinhell]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania. My friend is incarcerated. He is currently trying to have a PCRA filed on his behalf in order to get sentencing relief. He sent a motion directly to the judge who told him he had to have an attorney file it for him and he would appoint one to his case. The attorney was appointed. My friend sent all of the issues at hand for his PCRA via certified mail to this court appointed attorney. Less than a week later, the attorney mails my friend a letter telling him his points/issues were frivilous and he had no case. Yet the judge that tried his case was lead prosecutor for the DA at the time he was indicted on the charges he was tried for. We believe that to be a definite conflict of interest, yet there were other, very legal issues that my friend raised in his letter. Along with the attorney's letter telling my friend he had no case was a motion to withdraw from his case all together. Too late to make a long story short, but is it legal for a court appointed attorney to withdraw from a case like that and flatly refuse to file my friend's PCRA??? His deadline is in March sometime and we need to get this thing filed. It seems as though the attorney and the judge are in cahoots and trying to make it so that my friend will run out of time on this between the attorney withdrawing and no PCRA being filed as of yet. Please advise...any advice is greatly appreciated. The American "justice" system is so unfair, it really is. Thanking you in advance for any input.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

The American "justice" system is so unfair, it really is. Thanking you in advance for any input.

=====================================

My response:

Okay, here's my "input" - -

With a statement like that, I'll get back to you - - just as soon as I start to care about your friend.

IAL

 

[erinhell]

Why even bother to respond if that is your "input". I would think that any legal-aware person would be intelligent enough to know that innocent people are sent to prison more often then not. I was not in any way trying to offend. My friend is innocent I know for a fact.

 

[Son of Slam]

. It seems as though the attorney and the judge are in cahoots ....

Duh, and it seems to me, you and your friend are in cahoots to try to make fools out of them.

 

[stephenk]

How do you know your friend did not misappropriate any of the money missing from the dealership?

 

[erinhell]

My friend was not the Owner of the dealership for one thing, he was a salesman. My question is...."Is it legal for a court appointed attorney to withdraw from a case because of personal beliefs?" Please, only serious and informative replies.

 

[stephenk]

that is a valid reason for withdrawing. It is called incompatablility with the client. if the attorney believes the client wants the attorney to file a frivolous appeal, the attorney is not required to comply with the client's wishes. The attorney can either convince the client the appeal is frivolous or withdraw from the case and let the client file the appeal on their own or find an attorney who will file the appeal.


Also, your friend was not just a salesman, but he was married to the owner of the dealership. The state must have had enough evidence against him, other than the wife's testimony, to convict him, right?

 

[hexeliebe]

Not to mention that a court appointed attorney is under no obligation to file an appeal. Their responsibility ends with the adjudication at trial.

An appeal is a separate and distinct process not a part of the trial covered by his or her appointment.

 

[erinhell]

First let me thank you for your serious and informative response to my question. The attorney that was court appointed was not the attorney that represented him at the trial. The attorney that represented him at trial was privately retained. Yes, he was married to the owner of the dealership. The dealership went belly up and they were unable to pay off 3 vehicles. The wife did testify, but lied saying she had no knowledge of the books etc. Every check that was ever written out of the dealership was in her handwriting, however that did not seem to make an impact on the judge. He thought that his first issue would be that the judge should never have tried the case, stating conflict of interest since he was lead prosecutor for the DA at the time of the indictment. Again, I would like to thank you very much for the serious and informative response, it is greatly appreciative. I was not trying to offend anyone in my first entry, however it seems that I did. I apologize.

 

[bthompson39]

It might be nice if Administration "acted" as though they gave a hoot about the hurt, confused people that come seeking advice. Shame on you for making a joke of things, as for me, no more posts nescessary. And, in response to your response, I am not interested in anything you have to offer, either. (God, please don't let my heart harden like this person's after I take the bar). You, sir, need to take a good hard look at yourself. I will pray for you. Bridget Thompson

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

It might be nice if Administration "acted" as though they gave a hoot about the hurt, confused people that come seeking advice. Shame on you for making a joke of things, as for me, no more posts nescessary. And, in response to your response, I am not interested in anything you have to offer, either. (God, please don't let my heart harden like this person's after I take the bar). You, sir, need to take a good hard look at yourself. I will pray for you. Bridget Thompson

My response:

You need to look closely at your "bleeding-heart liberalism" a little closer if, and when, you "take the Bar". The Bar doesn't need any more Liberals. We need people with critical eyes!

I also don't appreciate someone who comes here and "slams" the American Justice System, my "bread and butter", and something I care deeply about, by making stupid comments like, "The American "justice" system is so unfair, it really is."

It really is?

It's ALWAYS "unfair" to the losing party, and it's ALWAYS "unfair" to criminals that get convicted. Remember, if you ask 9/10 of all prisoners, they'll respond with, "I didn't do it - - I'm innocent."

IAAL

 

[bthompson39]

Yo.

I am a Rebublican.

 

[erinhell]

I am not looking for sympathy for or from anyone, just trying to help someone. I am allowed to have an opinion on the American Justice system no matter who's "bread and butter" it is. I wish that "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" would simply not respond to my threads already. All I was looking for was simple advice, informational advice. If you didn't agree with what I said, fine, don't read it or disregard it or simply do not respond. I would think it to be a red flag that the United States of America has more people in prison than any country in the world. Yes, there are innocent people in prison and the reason it is so hard to rectify or bring the truth about is because of the stigma that comes along with incarceration. The majority of people are just like I AM ALWAYS LIABLE...completely hard headed, thick and incredibly pompous.
No, I am not going to relent and say that I think that there is justice in this country, I am entitled to my opinion, I see things from a different view point than any attorney will. I was not trying to offend anyone, just trying to help an innocent person. I would like to thank the two serious and informative responses I received.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Re: Yo.

I am a Rebublican.

My response:

Then, what the hell are you saying stupid things like "Shame on you for making a joke of things"? First of all, it was no "joke". Second, I have very little patience for idiots like you, or the original writer.

Go back to your trailer, and think about your mind-set. Get your mind back in order, and stop being a Bumpkin.

IAAL

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I am not looking for sympathy for or from anyone, just trying to help someone. I am allowed to have an opinion on the American Justice system no matter who's "bread and butter" it is. I wish that "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" would simply not respond to my threads already. All I was looking for was simple advice, informational advice. If you didn't agree with what I said, fine, don't read it or disregard it or simply do not respond. I would think it to be a red flag that the United States of America has more people in prison than any country in the world. Yes, there are innocent people in prison and the reason it is so hard to rectify or bring the truth about is because of the stigma that comes along with incarceration. The majority of people are just like I AM ALWAYS LIABLE...completely hard headed, thick and incredibly pompous.
No, I am not going to relent and say that I think that there is justice in this country, I am entitled to my opinion, I see things from a different view point than any attorney will. I was not trying to offend anyone, just trying to help an innocent person. I would like to thank the two serious and informative responses I received.

My response:

Then, don't get off on the wrong foot by saying stupid and unfounded things like, ""The American "justice" system is so unfair, it really is."

Sure, you're entitled to your opinion. However, I'm entitled to disregard your plea for help, making me ONE LESS person who could have helped you.

You need to know your audience before you ask for help, and then "SLAM" the very people from whom you are asking for that help.

IAAL