When is our next meeting? The Answer will Surprise you!

In most cases, we begin representation after the arrest but before formal charging at arraignment. Sometimes we get Discovery Exhibit evidence before Pretrial and sometimes afterward. Your appearance at Arraignment and Pretrial were waived, but at some point, most people ask…

“What Happened in Court?”

Nothing.

This surprises people. They've been watching law shows since childhood and this is never streamed.

Yet… Nothing that moved the needle on your case happened in court. Real court is nothing like on TV. This is precisely why we excused your appearance for Arraignment and Pretrial. Let's go through each one.

Arraignment

Arraignment is often misnamed as “Felony Plea” or even “Plea Day”. Here is what happened: the judge called your name, the Deputy Clerk said something like “a written plea of Not Guilty was filed on ____”, and the judge scheduled the case for a Pretrial. 

You only need to know two things: 1) you do not have to go to court, and; 2) nothing will happen that moves the needle towards or away from your case.

This proceeding is a historical holdover from when pleas would be accepted in the morning and trials would be held in the afternoon. Note: Public Defender clients and unrepresented people are the only ones who go to court for Arraignment. Public Defender clients are required to go because they often ghost their lawyers and claim they didn't know about court.

Pretrial

Pretrial used to be held in chambers, and was an off the record proceeding where lawyers could speak freely about cases. As result, a lot of useful work was accomplished.

In today's world, Pretrial is a waste of time: unless you are going to enter a plea of no contest and be sentenced, the only purpose of Pretrial is to advise the judge regarding the status of the case. Since this could be done with a text message or a one line email, it is extremely rare that any useful work will be accomplished. Instead, lawyer time is set on fire waiting to speak for about 30 seconds prior to the court granting a continuance due to a discovery issue. We excused your appearance because nothing useful was going to happen.

Your Next Consultation will be After the Discovery Exhibit Arrives

After retention, there may or may not be a post-retention consultation but the most important consultation is your discovery exhibit consultation.

First, we get written, audio and video evidence from the Office of the State Attorney. A copy is sent to you for your review.

Next, review it as a skeptic. Keep in mind the jury will view the evidence as a whole. Don't blow your life up by only looking at the evidence in your favor. Do what lawyers do: play prosecutor in your head in order to avoid false hope that can get you sentenced to the maximum.

Finally, review the Discovery Exhibit for missing evidence. Discovery is rarely complete with the first exhibit. For example, it is unlikely the radar/laser or odometer used to stop a speeding vehicle was not correctly certified but discovery is not complete without this information because it may lead to a complete defense in the pretrial phase of the case. Does this happen often? No, but additional discovery is required in this example or a complete defense may be missed.

Misdemeanor cases may be handled in as little as two or three consultations

This is another thing that surprises people. About 99% of cases that are initially set for trial eventually settle. Some have reduced or substituted charges, others do not.

The number of meetings is determined by the type of case, the evidence presented and the needs of the client. However, experience teaches that only two or three consultations are needed for fact gathering, updates and case analysis. 

Analyzing the case and explaining the law takes very little time. Dealing with the emotional impact of criminal charges takes far longer. This is why we require clients to use Coping with Stress During criminal Prosecution.

Felony cases may require more consultations, but the truth is simple: your case looks like a math mystery with lots of letters instead of numbers. Defense lawyers look at your case with a mindset of figuring out what those letters are so we can provide you answers. Once those answers are provided, each client must decide whether to go to trial or settle and this is an emotional decision we cannot help with: we are counselors in law, not psychology.