What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado.
In June of 2008 I was arrested and incarcerated for drugs that were found taped to the under carriage of my car. I was pulled over immediately after pulling out of my driveway. The officer approached the car and requested the usual and also asked if I objected to him searching my vehicle. I consented. What happened after the consent is a ludicrous series of events. I will stick with the ethical question concerning the attorney that was hired. Upon my arrest I suffered a mild stroke and was left with some loss of use of my right side. I was incarcerated after hospital stay but was optimistic that this was some crazy mistake and any minute I was going to be released. That didn't happen. By the end of July my family became concerned and decided to hire a private attorney The attorney made a professional visit to me and after hearing what happened he said " I will need $5000.00 as a retainer and I want you to know that if this goes to trial we could be looking at $12,000.00." He told me that my brother Tom had called him and had actually driven him to the jail. At a bond hearing on August 28th my bond was reduced from $50,000 to $10,000 and I was confident I would be bonded out. That didn't happen immediately because as I discovered later the attorney recommended to my family that they leave me in jail. Stating that the police were involved in a dirty case and I would not be safe out of jail. He also told them that they may not be safe. Two unfortunate things happened I suffered from 2 seperate mini strokes and my husband who was terminally ill had died after being left alone and confused. He had died on August 21st and this hearing was Aug 28. Im trying to stick to just the (?) important facts. I did manage to get out and my brother and I met with this lawyer on Sept 4th. The money for my defense had been sent to me as a gift from a friend and was put in my brothers hand to manage. At the meeting with the lawyer I was very depressed sad and unable to talk clearly because of the stroke. I did sign a contract for fees. I did give him permission to speak with my brother about the case.
Without making you crazy heres what happened. On first court date my lawyer offended the DA so blatantly that it seemed like a challenge to a duel and my life was at stake. Then a preliminary hearing was held that should have ended this but once again the lawyer forgot key points and told me to shut up when I was trying to talk with him at the defense table. He was a XXX with a huge ego and no listening skills. From August of 2008 until May of 2009 I attended an almost monthly court appearance while the lawyer requeseted more postponements and the bill racked up at $360.00 an hour. I was forced to move to my daughters in Arizona and had to commute to the court dates. In March the attorney fees were at About $15,000 and only one hearing had been held. I went to a meeting with my brother and Jim (att) and discussed with him the concern over the amount of money and that soon we would be out. He said he understood and wasn't going to charge for this visit. I was very unhappy with this lawyers attitude demeanor towards me and I was forced to remind him several times that I was the client not my brother. The next court appearance was a motions hearing for dismissal based on illegal search (?). When I recieved the copy of the motion I was astonished as I had told the attorney that I gave verbal permission for search. On the morning of the hearing I was in his office and again told him I authorized the search. He was screaming at me so loud his paralegal came in to see what was going on. He said if I got on the stand and told the judge I gave that consent then this was over and I was going to prison. He also said I would be a terrible witness and he was afraid to put me on the stand. My frustration was mounting by the minute and I knew that this guy did not have my best interest. At the hearing he did put me on the stand and when the DA asked me if I gave the officer consent I froze. I felt that it was the moment of decision and for a sec I said nothing looked at Jim and his face was bright red and I said "I dont remember" . Then I added I may have, I felt I had to tell the truth. There were much bigger and more important issues than the search. But because the lawyer never listened to me or researched what happened that day the truth was still buried. The judge ruled " I believe Miss Morehouse gave the consent it would make no sense that she did not give consent to search car when she did consent to search of home when the officers took her back there" The case was set to trial in one week. I left the court and went to the head of the El Paso County ethics commitee and said I feel that my attorney wanted me to lie and that he is incompetent. What do I do? I was instructed to write a letter to the judge stating my fear and insinuating that I was reporting this to the Colorado Supreme Court. I sent a copy to the lawyer to the DA and to the judge. The judge agreed to my request to fire attorney and he offered a public defender. I went to my attorneys office and he was pissed. At that time I ended his representation, gave a signed letter requesting that he no longer communicate with my brother about the case and thatI would be paying any of remainder myself. I even attempted to give him $100 that day but he refused. My brother also had mailed a letter stating he would no longer be involved in this matter and that he was ending any financial obligations from this time forward. Blah blah the case was finally dismissed on March 4,2010 when the City Attorney admitted in a closed hearing that the Colorado Springs Police that handled the case had busted someone of possession the night before they stopped me and that they had offered a deal if that person would implicate someone else. Thus the dope taped under my car and the search that ensued. I was told by the judge on the day of the dismissal that it was no longer safe for me to reside in Colorado and he suggested I leave town immediately for Arizona. At the time I dismissed the lawyer we had paid about $18,000.00. The topping on this cake is that I just found out that the lawyer had billed my brother another almost $8,000.00 for services that were rendered after he was fired. When my brother said he was out of it Jim threatened to put a lien on his home and my brother has been paying $200.00 a month. No one had told me or I would have done something long ago. My brother was afraid for his home and has just been sending the check. Now I find many family members angry at me because my brother has been holding a bag I didnt even know about. Please what do I do ? Go to the Colorado Regulatory Board, charge Lawyer with civil or just let it ride. I have decided to persue the Civil Suit against the city of Colorado Springs and the police. The one officer in question has been suspended from job due to involvement in another case where he set the victim up. Im sorry that this seems to be long winded and I have left some facts out in an attempt to makes the issues here obvious to the reader. I look forward to a reply.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
In June of 2008 I was arrested and incarcerated for drugs that were found taped to the under carriage of my car. I was pulled over immediately after pulling out of my driveway. The officer approached the car and requested the usual and also asked if I objected to him searching my vehicle. I consented. What happened after the consent is a ludicrous series of events. I will stick with the ethical question concerning the attorney that was hired. Upon my arrest I suffered a mild stroke and was left with some loss of use of my right side. I was incarcerated after hospital stay but was optimistic that this was some crazy mistake and any minute I was going to be released. That didn't happen. By the end of July my family became concerned and decided to hire a private attorney The attorney made a professional visit to me and after hearing what happened he said " I will need $5000.00 as a retainer and I want you to know that if this goes to trial we could be looking at $12,000.00." He told me that my brother Tom had called him and had actually driven him to the jail. At a bond hearing on August 28th my bond was reduced from $50,000 to $10,000 and I was confident I would be bonded out. That didn't happen immediately because as I discovered later the attorney recommended to my family that they leave me in jail. Stating that the police were involved in a dirty case and I would not be safe out of jail. He also told them that they may not be safe. Two unfortunate things happened I suffered from 2 seperate mini strokes and my husband who was terminally ill had died after being left alone and confused. He had died on August 21st and this hearing was Aug 28. Im trying to stick to just the (?) important facts. I did manage to get out and my brother and I met with this lawyer on Sept 4th. The money for my defense had been sent to me as a gift from a friend and was put in my brothers hand to manage. At the meeting with the lawyer I was very depressed sad and unable to talk clearly because of the stroke. I did sign a contract for fees. I did give him permission to speak with my brother about the case.
Without making you crazy heres what happened. On first court date my lawyer offended the DA so blatantly that it seemed like a challenge to a duel and my life was at stake. Then a preliminary hearing was held that should have ended this but once again the lawyer forgot key points and told me to shut up when I was trying to talk with him at the defense table. He was a XXX with a huge ego and no listening skills. From August of 2008 until May of 2009 I attended an almost monthly court appearance while the lawyer requeseted more postponements and the bill racked up at $360.00 an hour. I was forced to move to my daughters in Arizona and had to commute to the court dates. In March the attorney fees were at About $15,000 and only one hearing had been held. I went to a meeting with my brother and Jim (att) and discussed with him the concern over the amount of money and that soon we would be out. He said he understood and wasn't going to charge for this visit. I was very unhappy with this lawyers attitude demeanor towards me and I was forced to remind him several times that I was the client not my brother. The next court appearance was a motions hearing for dismissal based on illegal search (?). When I recieved the copy of the motion I was astonished as I had told the attorney that I gave verbal permission for search. On the morning of the hearing I was in his office and again told him I authorized the search. He was screaming at me so loud his paralegal came in to see what was going on. He said if I got on the stand and told the judge I gave that consent then this was over and I was going to prison. He also said I would be a terrible witness and he was afraid to put me on the stand. My frustration was mounting by the minute and I knew that this guy did not have my best interest. At the hearing he did put me on the stand and when the DA asked me if I gave the officer consent I froze. I felt that it was the moment of decision and for a sec I said nothing looked at Jim and his face was bright red and I said "I dont remember" . Then I added I may have, I felt I had to tell the truth. There were much bigger and more important issues than the search. But because the lawyer never listened to me or researched what happened that day the truth was still buried. The judge ruled " I believe Miss Morehouse gave the consent it would make no sense that she did not give consent to search car when she did consent to search of home when the officers took her back there" The case was set to trial in one week. I left the court and went to the head of the El Paso County ethics commitee and said I feel that my attorney wanted me to lie and that he is incompetent. What do I do? I was instructed to write a letter to the judge stating my fear and insinuating that I was reporting this to the Colorado Supreme Court. I sent a copy to the lawyer to the DA and to the judge. The judge agreed to my request to fire attorney and he offered a public defender. I went to my attorneys office and he was pissed. At that time I ended his representation, gave a signed letter requesting that he no longer communicate with my brother about the case and thatI would be paying any of remainder myself. I even attempted to give him $100 that day but he refused. My brother also had mailed a letter stating he would no longer be involved in this matter and that he was ending any financial obligations from this time forward. Blah blah the case was finally dismissed on March 4,2010 when the City Attorney admitted in a closed hearing that the Colorado Springs Police that handled the case had busted someone of possession the night before they stopped me and that they had offered a deal if that person would implicate someone else. Thus the dope taped under my car and the search that ensued. I was told by the judge on the day of the dismissal that it was no longer safe for me to reside in Colorado and he suggested I leave town immediately for Arizona. At the time I dismissed the lawyer we had paid about $18,000.00. The topping on this cake is that I just found out that the lawyer had billed my brother another almost $8,000.00 for services that were rendered after he was fired. When my brother said he was out of it Jim threatened to put a lien on his home and my brother has been paying $200.00 a month. No one had told me or I would have done something long ago. My brother was afraid for his home and has just been sending the check. Now I find many family members angry at me because my brother has been holding a bag I didnt even know about. Please what do I do ? Go to the Colorado Regulatory Board, charge Lawyer with civil or just let it ride. I have decided to persue the Civil Suit against the city of Colorado Springs and the police. The one officer in question has been suspended from job due to involvement in another case where he set the victim up. Im sorry that this seems to be long winded and I have left some facts out in an attempt to makes the issues here obvious to the reader. I look forward to a reply.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
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