No Notice of Court Hearings
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Connecticut
Hi,
I'm hoping someone can give me some advise on the following:
I got arrested at the beginning of 2008 with charges of bridge of piece on the 2nd degree in the state of Connecticut. The charge was assault. I'm not a resident of that state by the way. I was just visiting. When I saw the judge I was let go without bail and the person that represented me told me that I should get some counseling and I bring evidence of that with me to the next court hearing and that should be it.
While waiting for my hearing I called an attorney to represent me. He told me the price and postpone the hearing a few times. When we actually went to court I had already completed counseling which I brought proof in the form of a letter. I was told that after 10 months everything will go away.
Well, at the beginning of this year I got a letter from the bails commissioner that I failed to show up to a hearing and an arrest warrant was going to be issued if I didn't show up for the next hearing. I contacted my lawyer and he told me he'll take care of it. Originally, he told me the DA was saying that I was not supposed to see my own counselor. Given a transcript of my last appearance it shows that the letter was accepted and I was given 2 month credit. Well, some how two days ago I got another letter from the bails commissioner office saying that an arrest warrant will be issue if I don't show up next month. I called my lawyer and he tells me these people are just busting my chops. At the same time, he says this case is starting to look very hairy because according to the DA my counselor dated his letter before it says I completed treatment. So basically, they are saying how do they know I didn't miss any sessions or actually completed. My lawyer asked me to get another letter from the counselor. Well, I tried to locate the counselor and he had a stroke about a month ago, he's paralyzed, and nobody really knows his where abouts. He could be dead too. He was referred to me by my employee's plan but he didn't have any association with an institution. Now, I'm not sure what to do.
Here are my questions:
One, why wasn't I notified that there was a problem? Or was my lawyer notified and he failed to tell me or do his job? Even 2 months ago I would have not had a problem getting a letter from my counselor.
Second, should I get another lawyer to represent me since my legal representation now is showing signs of incompetency. Not until I called him about my bail commissioner notification he didn't contact me. I call him and some times doesn't return my calls. Problem is that I'm in another state and I had to choose someone from the yellow pages.
Third, is this as hairy as my lawyer says or is he just trying to get more money?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Re: Where Did It Go Wrong
It's "breach of the peace." (How did you come up with... oh, never mind.)
We have no way of knowing why you didn't get notice. If you were supposed to get notice from the court, perhaps you gave them the wrong address or failed to keep them notified of your new address. If you were supposed to get notice through your lawyer, you can figure out whether your lawyer was getting notices and, if so, why he wasn't contacting you.
If you don't trust your lawyer to represent you properly, there's no harm in consulting another lawyer to potentially take over your case.
Re: No Notice of Court Hearings
Thanks Mr. Knowitall for responding.
After talking with my lawyer, it looks like they were contacting me through my lawyer. He said he got notices and he has been trying to fix this for over a year but failed to communicate it to me. This sounds like a lot of bull to me.
I also didn't give them the wrong address nor have I moved. They actually have the right address since I got the letters from the Bail Commissioners. That's how I found out there was a problem as opposed to finding out while being arrested during a routine traffic stop by a police officer.
I'm very tempted to contact the bar association on my lawyer but I'm not sure this will do any good. At this point, I just want this thing to go away.
I contacted a few lawyers to potentially take over the case. However, they have not given me any advise since they want money to take over the case. In the mean time, I'm waiting for my next hearing to see what's really going on.
If anybody has any advise on what to do on say at my or for my next court hearing I'll be happy to hear about it.