There are a number of reasons. For example, the city attorney may not believe that there is enough evidence to warrant a charge, that there is little chance of prevailing at trial, or that additional investigation should occur before a charging decision is made. The city attorney may simply be very busy at the moment, and may be putting off the paperwork.Quoting sporta
Only if they delay for long enough to make the statute of limitations an issue - and that's likely to be a very long wait.Quoting sporta
Yes.Quoting sporta
[quote="sporta"]If the charges are dismissed, why is there still a record?
Criminal records are typically broken down into three parts: Arrest, intial charge, and conviction charge. Thus if a person is arrested for armed robbery, and pleads guilty as part of a plea bargain to unarmed robbery, the police report would indicate the initial arrest and arrest date, the initial charge of unarmed robbery, and the finding of guilt for unarmed robbery.
Within that context, even if a charge is dismissed, the arrest and initial charge would still be reflected on the criminal record, along with a resolution showing dismissal.
If you don't want the charge showing up in a criminal history check, you may wish to explore those options under the state's law.Quoting sporta
My opinion doesn't count for much. That's presumably not an hourly rate - I doubt that the attorney would spend more than a few of hours total on this matter attempting to negotiate a resolution without going to court - but the question of value is a bit more complicated than "what am I paying per hour", given that it would be very difficult for you to engage in this type of negotiation directly. If you are concerned about the cost, I suggest you get additional price quotes from other law firms. You can also consider if you want to wait to see if the city attorney simply chooses not to proceed with a prosecution, although in cases like this it can be helpful to have a lawyer involved in the negotiation up-front (because prosecutors often bring charges even when their cases are weak, but may be convinced not to do so when they realize that an attorney is involved and that they have little chance of prevailing at trial.)Quoting sporta
Possibly, although an attorney may not feel comfortable representing all of you, even if you all sign confict of interest waivers, as you may end up in a situation where the prosecutor offers one of you a plea deal in return for your testimony against the others, or some other situation where your interests diverge and the attorney cannot fairly or effectively represent all three of you.Quoting sporta
It may be that if you were to hire the attorney it would have the de facto effect of obtaining representation for all three of you, as it may be the case that once a deal is cut for one of you it will be offered to all three of you.
If no charge has yet been filed, that's better than a dismissal. A dismissal is pretty much the best you can ask for once a charge has been filed.Quoting sporta
It's not uncommon. It might be standard practice for that City Attorney's office. It is rather coercive, though, to make you waive any civil rights claim that you might have as part of an agreement to dismiss the charge against you (or not to file charges).Quoting sporta
Probably not much - but you should run it by your attorney. I say "probably not much" because the statement is from a friend as opposed to an independent witness, and as it does not fully exculpate you and your friends.Quoting sporta

