Quote Quoting sporta
Why would the city attorney's office not have filed yet?
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.

Quote Quoting sporta
Is this to my advantage?
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.

Quote Quoting sporta
Could they be thinking it's a BS charge?
Yes.

[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.

Quote Quoting sporta
If dismissed, would I need to have the record sealed or expunged?
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.

Quote Quoting sporta
In your opinion, is $1500 a fair price for one person to pay for such?
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.)

Quote Quoting sporta
Can one lawyer represent us all in this case?
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.

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.

Quote Quoting sporta
Is there anything better than having charges dismissed?
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.

Quote Quoting sporta
Is a "hold them harmless" statement a standard practice or is this a mild admission of an abuse of power?
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).

Quote Quoting sporta
What kind of bearing does this eyewitness letter chave in our attempts to bring this to an end?
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.