The Stress of Appearing in Court

In early 1993, I had just completed the California Bar Exam and was settling into a routine to take my mind off the long wait to find out if I passed.  My best friend called and asked me to go have a few drinks with him.  I agreed and we ended up buying a six-pack of beer, sitting on a canal bank in rural Fresno County near the small town I grew up in, Firebaugh, California.

My friend was bringing me up to date on things happening in his life and I was telling him about the stress of taking the bar exam.  While we were sitting there, we heard a couple of gun shots.  Gun shots in this area of the county are not unusual and we didn’t give it a second thought other than our normal game of trying to guess what kind of firearm it was based on the sound.

About ten minutes later, we saw a Firebaugh Police Department cruiser driving down the highway near the area where we were sitting.  The police cruiser appeared to see us, turned around and started towards us.  Having grown up in this town, I figured it was one of the local officers we both knew and walked over to the area where he would need to park in order to contact us.

As soon as the car arrived, an officer I had never met before got out of his vehicle, pointed his pistol at us and order us to put our hands up!  We both followed his orders.  The officer then pulled me over to his vehicle and handcuffed me, yelling at me “Where’s the gun!?  Where’s the gun!?”  I told him I did not have a gun, and tried to calm him down, telling him I used to be a cop and used to live in Firebaugh.  He then bounced my head off the hood of his patrol car and started cussing at me demanding I tell him where the gun was.  That really pissed me off.  And being right out of law school, I told him I would not answer any questions without my attorney.

Apparently he thought that was the wrong answer and said “That’s how you want to play it asshole?”  He then tightened the handcuffs up to the point that they cut off the circulation to my hands, bounced my head off the patrol car again, and tossed me into the back of his patrol car.

He then cuffed my friend, tried to question him, roughed him up with the bouncing head routine, and put him in the back of the patrol car.

I was taken to the police stations and booked for discharging a firearm at an occupied dwelling and public intoxication.  Both charges were completely untrue.  I was eventually able to arrange to be released and given a court date.

I arrived in court with an attorney I knew was one of the best police misconduct attorneys in California.  I had complete confidence in him and knew if anyone could beat the bogus charges against me, he could.  We went through the arraignment and another date was set to come back to court.

A few weeks after my initial court appearance, I called my attorney’s office to find out what was going on with my case.  The receptionist took a message, but the attorney never called me back.  I waited a week and called again.  Same thing, no return call.  I started calling a couple of times a week.  Finally, I got a call from my attorney saying everything was going well and not to worry.  When I asked exactly what was happening, he said he had to take another call and he would call me back.  No call back.

When we went back to court, my attorney told me he was going to file a motion alleging police misconduct and ask for the officer’s police personnel file.  The court set a date for us to return.  As we were walking out, I asked my attorney for a copy of all the reports and any motions he was going to file.  He said he would have his secretary send me all the documents I asked for and left.

I waited a couple of weeks and started calling his office again, asking when I would be receiving the reports and motion. The receptionist said he would call me back, but he never did.

My frustration and stress was going through the roof.  I could not understand why an attorney with such a good reputation appeared to have no idea how frightening and stressful it was being prosecuted for something I did not do.  I considered getting another attorney but decided to see what happened at the next hearing.

When the next hearing date came around, my attorney told me to wait outside while he dealt with the case.  I told him I wanted to be present and see what was happening.  Over his objection, I went into the courtroom. When the case was called, my attorney asked the court to have a meeting in the judge’s chambers.  When I started to go with him, he stopped me and said I was not allowed in the back.

Waiting for them to come back out was only a few minutes, but seemed like hours.  When they finally came back out, I asked my attorney what happened.  He told me to wait and not say anything.  The judge called my case, asked the District Attorney if he had a motion, and my case was dismissed.

As we were walking out, I asked him what happened and he said they did not want to disclose the officer’s personnel file, so they dismissed instead.  I asked him what was in the personnel file that was so secret they needed to dismiss the case?  He said he did not know because the case was dismissed and now there was no reason to reveal the file.  He then said he had another case and quickly left.

While my attorney got a good result with the dismissal of completely unfounded charges, my experience was horrible and left me feeling like my attorney did not care at all about me as a person.  I promised myself that when I passed the bar and started working as an attorney, I would never treat a client the way my attorney had treated me.

I believe all clients have the right to be kept fully informed about their case.  Fully informed means access to everything in the case file, including all reports, letters, research, memos, motions, photos, etc.  It also means returning calls or emails as soon as possible and giving full and complete answers to all questions.

If you are looking for an experienced, reliable criminal defense attorney who has firsthand experience with the stress and fear of being a defendant in a criminal case, and will provide you with the best defense available, schedule an appointment on this web site or call to set up a time to meet and discuss your case.

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