Here’s an update to my current case.
I’m sober, all of my weekly drug screenings have come back negative, I’m still attending 2 Colleges, at the same time as a full time student for both, I have received my certificate in completing parenting class, I still attend weekly sessions with my counselor, I attend A.A meetings on the weekends…im doing All of this, as a single mom of a child who is on the spectrum and delayed in some ways. In addition to…none if this was court ordered, I literally went out took the initiative and done this all on my own.
Let me remind you: the prosecutor is asking for a 6mth sentence and 3 yr probation . There is absolutely no way in hell I can do that.
But now I have 1 big problem, my legal aide is not replying or calling me back. I update her everywhere on my progress, I send in my drug screening results, letters from personal and professional acquaintances of mine, school grade reports…the whole 9. My case is on the 27th of this month and I fear that I might have to do jail time because my lawyer isn’t communicating with me. No call back, no emails, letter in the mail…nothing. it was me who actually had to call the court house to ask about my next court appearance date because she sure as he’ll wasn’t answering me, but I know she has read my messages and I have talked to her receptionist and left messages. I’m trying really hard on my part and I don’t want her to think I’m annoying. I understand her job is overwhelming enough, and this pandemic sure al he’ll isn’t helping either. But I just want to make sure we are on the same page and I don’t have enough money to hire a an attorney. I feel bad for her, but I have no clue about what I should do. Any ideas or suggestions people?
Hello and Good Morning!
It seems really frustrating. I can’t and don’t think it would be a good idea to offer advice, but I’ll convey some of my experience working for two criminal defense attorneys some time back.
Often, there are goings on behind the scenes with defense counsel emailing the county attorney working on your case, but until there is a change in the case status, if there’s nothing to report, there isn’t anything to report. Sometimes defense counsel is waiting for a response from the DCA who is waiting for a response from his/her boss.
The other thing I learned is you don’t want any attorney you can easily and always get a hold of (ha).
Try to be in serenity that maybe you haven’t heard from your Counsel because he or she has been working the case, but is himself or herself waiting on case movement. The attorneys with whom I now work (CPS/DCS Cases) appreciate getting all of their clients’ certificates of completion, progress updates, etc.
Not advice inasmuch as try to exhale and try to believe in goings on behind the scenes for your desirable outcome. And yes, they do work very very hard.
(hugs)
Did you say that this was your 3rd DUI? When did you get your first DUI?
I think you’ll receive a suspended jail sentence for two reasons: all the obvious work you’ve been putting in on repairing your life, and the ongoing pandemic making judges reluctant to put people in jail. Also, do you have a job? If you somehow receive a jail sentence I’m sure you’ll qualify for work release.
I expect you’ll hear from your legal representative soon. Try to be patient and not pester her. I’m sure she’s very busy. Remember, she wants to win. Both sides want to “win,” of course.
Please keep us updated. I wrote “Dee25 court date” on my kitchen calendar. : )
Thankyou so much for reassurance. This is my 2nd. The first one was a felony charge. I was given the plea deal of 5 years probation. But before I signed anything, I wanted to discuss with my court appointed attorney if there are reprussions to me signing before receiving judgement in this new case. My mind is everywhere, like I’m in quicksand. So I have yet to sign off on the 5yr probation
- Im fighting back tears, this is really getting to me. My anxiety is at an all time high. I’m fidgeting, stuttering alot, I pace back and forth during phone convos ( like I can’t control it , I jump when I hear th phone ring, the doorbell and car dor slamming. I’m keeping focus in school and as a mother, I’m still trying to process the thought and possibility of not seeing my son, I’m in nursing school so chances are that’s out the window, especially after spending thousands and thousands of dollars.
I know about that kind of anxiety. It’s like terror. It’s amazing how much stress our bodies can handle, amazing that our hearts keep beating, but they do keep beating and we survive and eventually the bad times are behind us.
I’m confused about what you mean about “signing off” the five year probation. How does that affect your current case?
I just feel like I have a dark cloud over my head everywhere that I go. The shame, guilt , embarrassment, its nerve racking. And I meant that If I show up as a convicted felon on the day of my court appearance, Am I more likely to go to jail ?
Your situation is confusing to me. How is it possible that you can choose whether your 1st DUI is a felony or misdemeanor? What does it mean to “sign off” on your probation?
I would think that not having a prior felony would be the wisest move. : )
I guess maybe I just worded it wrong. My first offense, a class E felony, I was given a plea deal of 5 yrs. Prior to the 5yr probation deal, before any offers were presented to me documents, I was so stupid and I hate myself for it, to have aqcuired a DUI charge while I still had the felony charge. A couple of weeks go by and the prosecutor that was handling my felony charge was made aware of my DUI charge and offered me the 5yr probation. Had I accepted the offer prior to the DUI charge, automatic jail sentence. I leave in a couple of days to sign the plea agreement in person after a month of stalling. About 2 weeks later The, The prosecutor handling my DUI case had offered 6month and 3 yrs probation. So im not being charged as a convicted felon who has broken the law. So while I wait to be told of the day to sign the 5 yr probation plea agreement, my current and open DUI case, a misdemeanor, is still being reviewed I guess. So as the days, weeks and months have passed by, I have been doing everything within my power to show that I put action to my words and I have been working extremely hard to better myself. Outpatient treatments, parenting classes, volunteering, A.A meetings, submitting to a weekly supervised drug screening, I’ve passed them all, and attending 2 colleges at the same time, both being as a full time student. In addition to being a single mother, my son is speech and delayed…possibly on the spectrum and I won’t know until evals are conducted. But my younger brother is severely autistic, and I can recognize a familiar behavior problem between the 2.
And as you already know, my defense lawyer attended a court session on my behalf. 1 , because I had a midterm test at the same time. 2, my lawyer has repeatedly told me that I do not have to be in attendance for the virtual meeting. She made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. Although I believe she did it within best interests because she is aware of my anxiety and depression disorder. There have been so many times that I can even get a coherent sentence out and I’ve been having more panic attacks. Since speaking to her yesterday early morning, I’ve been praying all day and night but I have not at all heard a word back from her. In my mind, I’m already thinking the worst, but there have been quite a few people telling me that no news is good news. As much as I want to ask how everything went yesterday, For some reason I’m way to scared to ask, like I just want to hide underneath a rock. Theres a lump in my throat… I know that as an adulthood, I have to take care of business and I can’t afford not too. But I’m currently living in a happy bubble with my son and I don’t want to have it popped right now. But in your opinion, what would you think if you were in my shoes and your appointed attorney is really communicating. Is that a good or bad sign?
It’s still confusing. Your first offense wasn’t a DUI? You were in the process of agreeing to felony probation but hadn’t signed the paperwork yet, so when you received the current DUI you weren’t on probation yet. Now you’re agreeing to the 5 years probation and then you’re dealing with your current DUI?
I thought your sentencing was yesterday, so I would definitely have expected your attorney to notify you of the results immediately. More confusion.
As difficult as it may be to attend the hearing virtually, I think you should have attended it so the judge could get a look at your remorseful face and perhaps you could have spoken to the judge and explained all the work you’ve been doing to, as you said, better yourself.
Please keep us updated and try to stay optimistic. No matter what the outcome, you’ll get through it. : )
Thank you so much. And believe me, I understand that this all seems confusing. I feel like this has been a confusing situation period. But you did get it right, my first run In with law & order, I did commit a felony, pled not guilty and you know the rest. But during the court session, this is a portion of the text that I was sent
From lawyer to me :
" Today we have virtual court but you do not need to attend. We do not have a court clerk so it’s just lawyers speaking with the judge. I do not think i received the letter, I will double check. I can also reach out to them if you’d like"
This is only a snippet of an update regarding the hearing. And the letters that my attorney is referring to are letters of good character morale, written by my mental health advisor, the parenting class instructor and my overall case worker. Apparently after having asked 3 times and told 3 times that they would write them for me…they haven’t emailed any of the letters straight to my lawyer.
Wow, what a ball of confusion! I don’t know what to think about it. We really need the judge to see those letters.
So this court appearance by your attorney wasn’t a sentencing, which is how I jotted it down on my calendar. When is your actual sentencing?
I’m glad that you sound positive. I am so looking forward to you getting this behind you, Dee! : )
Thankyou being in my corner, i just feel horrible, but at least I have 1 person in my corner. I have no clue as it pertains to sentencing, but the judge has yet to find me guilty.
This morning, I was FINALLY able to recieve a response from court appointed lawyer, and she told me that signing this plea bargain will not affect my Nassau case. Thats good news, I have to go upstate next week to sign the papers. And no, I have no info or updates from her. Literally everything she tells me, I’ve told you, at this point we’re on the same page. But I will say, I am in extreme panic mode. Regardless of the answers given to me by my legal aide here in Nassau, I’m extremely concerned about my representation. I have recieved no information about any future court dates, no info in regards to the hearing from Wednesday and now she tells me her grandmother is sick and she will be leaving the states for a while. The prosecutor is still asking for jail + probation. This makes me feel that there is no hope, I’m going to jail, I won’t be there for my son, and the education and all the tuition I payed for it, out of pocket, will go down the drain. Its bad enough that pursuing my dreams of becoming a nurse and finding employment will be a slim to no chance. Not to mention, my sister basically disowned me, presented me with an offer to sign my parental rights away and have told me, if sent to jail they wouldn’t visit me. Its been extremely hard and stressful. Sometimes I feel like shit alot because there are people who have been through so much worst. I refuse to not fight for myself, my child, and my passion to work in Healthcare. I’ve only been so helpless in two other times, in all of my 25 yrs. At this point, I feel as though I’m being catfished, and she must’ve gotten her degree from a cereal box. This is not right at all. I am trying extremely hard to do the right things in life. But as a A.A member and a outpatient for substance abuse, she makes me want to drink and I haven’t picked up a single bottle in the past 6 months. I feel like she’s not trying hard enough or meeting me halfway. If I’m trying this hard, why isn’t she? I’m much more than a name on a dockets I actually put action to my words, but It seems like nothing is good enough. After reading the email, I had a very huge and panic attack , and I’ve only had that once before after a sexual assault and finding out I was pregnant with my son. I was way to fearful and ashamed to even report it. I’m talking tears, snot and a trip to the E.R .
- im Literally going to create a go fund me or something, I can’t keep crying and losing sleep over this. This is beyond my control and I don’t know whether to go left or right.
Your court-appointed attorney is leaving the country? And she says she’ll be gone “for a while?” This implies that your court date won’t be “for a while” either, so you have time, possibly months, to regroup, get stronger, keep working on your degree and, most importantly, stay sober. : )
I see in the paper that jail sentences are suspended very frequently. The prosecutor in your case is asking for six months jail time. That’s actually quite a short sentence. I still believe that your sentence will be suspended, that is, you will receive a jail sentence but you won’t actually go to jail. And if you somehow actually have to go to jail, it won’t be prison and you’ll get work release/school release.
I think you should fill a big binder with your “drug screening results, letters from personal and professional acquaintances, school grade reports,” etc., for the judge. Include recent pictures of you and your son together.
I don’t understand your sister’s harsh judgment of you, especially now that you’ve been sober for six months, but I’m sure there are other issues.
Try to remind yourself of the big picture ~ this will all be behind you soon, you’re not going to lose your son, and you have a bright future.
- Not the country, but the state…to Ohio. When I read that email, as sympathetic that I was to her grandmother being sick, I was confused and mad. It’s like your grandma is sick, I’m sorry to hear that. But I have a child, he has no father, there’s a string possibility he may be on the spectrum, my mom is in remission from breast cancer…like I got shit too. And you know what??? As I was speaking to my brother last night about this, a light bulb went off in my head. IDK, her excuse sounds like a scam. A scam that I may possibly be getting catfished lol. There is just no way that I can believe, a lawyer , ANY lawyer, can be so unprofessional. And the weird thing is, there was a text she sent me, replying to my complaint of how the Justice system is and blah blah… you want to know something??? This is her reply
“Ugh, that’s gotta be frustrating! I will speak with you after court. Try and take care of yourself. Whatever happens with your cases, you WILL get through this!”
I’ve never heard, seen, or can even think that a degree- hold professional, a lawyer, my legal representative, would text e some bullshit starting with “ugh”. That’s some shit a teenager would text. And you know what, over the span of 6 months I’ve only ever talked to her once. Literally, I’ve only heard her voice one time, never seen her face in person or through video. In addition to telling me that I don’t have to be present for a court date, I’m starting to think that I’m not talking to a lawyer but a well crafted catfish. As you can see, in her reply , and this is verbatim, she says she will speak to me “after court”…there was never a follow up call or email. And now I’m scrambling to call the court to ask about any future court dates and hopefully I can recieve some kind of info about what went down last week Wednesday. I’m worried that she may not have even presented any of my documents to the prosecutor or the judge to let them know, I am not a threat to society, I’m a single mom, I’m an admitted outpatient to a substance abuse program, my drug results, my volunteering ect…maybe that’s why the prosecutor hasn’t been a little lenient and offer some alternative punishment other than jail. I’m telling you, at this point I have to advocate for myself and do some detective work. Hopefully she actually did go and I don’t have a bench warrant out there on my ass. With this type of unprofessionalism , I think I might have to sue her ass. I would never in a million years think that I would be put in this position of facing jail time and the only middle man between me and the prosecutor is not doing her job. It’s like damn…now I can understand why career criminals do what they do. The justice system is trash and unfair . With a criminal record, finding employment, going back to school, getting help from the government, just about every outside resource that is put into place to help people become a productive member of society is limited to me now. I’m not asking for the moon or stars, but can I at least get a decent lawyer to help me out. Like seriously…what lawyer texts ugh. That’s like a doctor writing LMFAO on my discharge papers.
IDK, when I first read that ohio text, for some reason the word scam popped up in my head.like when I would try to buy something or apply for a job on Craigslist. I would get an email about how the buyer or employer is moving to God knows where and wants to take my personal info.
And as for my sister…although she she has said all of these things, I can’t really fault her because I was fucking up. Although she’s my sister and we love each other, I think it’s pretty evident that she doesn’t like me. If we weren’t related, I doubt we would be friends. But surprisingly, I’m OK with that. Besides it was a while ago she said those things to me…about 3 months I believe. There was a lot more she said, and her words were filled with hatred. Like her words came from the pit of her stomach, she was spewing acid and venom. She must’ve been feeling this way about me for a long time and it still hurts to this day. It makes me feel like every happy memory, the laughs, the giggles, the bond was so disingenuous, like I’ve been hanging out with a stranger. But even with the words and the tone she used against me, there were 2 comments she said that haunts me and it literally triggers me. Even the thought of putting it in a chat box is a hard thing for me to do, I can feel the tears and the lump in the back of my throat already. The first comment: “YOU DISGUST ME” and the second one: YOU DONT EVEN LOVE YOUR OWN SON!" Hearing those words, I couldn’t sleep for a long time, even taking my usual sleep aids didn’t work. When I brought that up to my therapist, I could barely get the words out. My hands were shaking, I kept stuttering, my blood pressure was rising ect. I’ve been through alot of things in my life, But those comments hurt me to the core. Besides 2 other times in my life, there’s not a single bully or altercation that I have been in that has literally taken my breath away. I don’t blame her for feeling like that though. I don’t like it but I can’t be mad. But I can tell she feels bad. She calls around to check up on me and my son, she never calls my phone. She asks the most random questions about me and sometimes I have to pause and think like, “why is she asking about this?” But I know it’s just her way of trying to mend this sisterhood, but there is absolutely no way the relationship between she and I will ever be the same again. She has said alot and I have done alot, so I can’t be fake and phony with someone who secretly has this animosity towards me. She’s trying and I just kind of want her to stop.