What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
Hi everyone. A friend of mine wound up with a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. She was unfairly charged in my view (very plausible self-defense claim; police left all evidence of her own injuries out of the report, etc). I hired a lawyer for her because she didn't have any money to pay. He came highly recommended but this far I have been somewhat disappointed regarding his engagement. It has been nearly two months and the only time he has spoken to the client was briefly at the pre-trial hearing. His argument up until that point was that he hadn't received a police report, so he didn't want to be somehow 'contaminated' by talking to her. But at the pre-trial hearing he received the report and scheduled another pre-trial hearing in about a month. Since receiving the new police report, there has been no contact or update.
My questions: isn't it normal to have some kind of conference with the client to talk about case strategy? Should he have reached out to the prosecutor by now to determine what they are willing to offer if anything? Should he have done background checks or other investigations on the person who filed the charges against her?
I honestly don't know what is normal in a case like this. She is a very quiet person, so basically I need to speak up for her if it seems like things are not being handled properly. It seems like at the very least his 'bedside manor' as an attorney is poor, but does this mean he's also mishandling the case? So far it seems like he has done exactly what the public defender would have done (namely very little).
Any thoughts from attorneys would be welcome!
Hi everyone. A friend of mine wound up with a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. She was unfairly charged in my view (very plausible self-defense claim; police left all evidence of her own injuries out of the report, etc). I hired a lawyer for her because she didn't have any money to pay. He came highly recommended but this far I have been somewhat disappointed regarding his engagement. It has been nearly two months and the only time he has spoken to the client was briefly at the pre-trial hearing. His argument up until that point was that he hadn't received a police report, so he didn't want to be somehow 'contaminated' by talking to her. But at the pre-trial hearing he received the report and scheduled another pre-trial hearing in about a month. Since receiving the new police report, there has been no contact or update.
My questions: isn't it normal to have some kind of conference with the client to talk about case strategy? Should he have reached out to the prosecutor by now to determine what they are willing to offer if anything? Should he have done background checks or other investigations on the person who filed the charges against her?
I honestly don't know what is normal in a case like this. She is a very quiet person, so basically I need to speak up for her if it seems like things are not being handled properly. It seems like at the very least his 'bedside manor' as an attorney is poor, but does this mean he's also mishandling the case? So far it seems like he has done exactly what the public defender would have done (namely very little).
Any thoughts from attorneys would be welcome!