You Will Need A Lawyer by Charles E. Corry, Ph.D.
You Will Need A Lawyer by Charles E. Corry, Ph.D.© 2002-2006 Equal Justice Foundation
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| Chapter 1 — Charged With Domestic Violence? |
| Next — A criminal defense attorney's view of the domestic violence industry |
| Back — Penalties for a domestic violence conviction |
Chief Justice Warren Burger, US Supreme Court
A competent criminal defense attorney is essential
Infidelity likely basis for false allegations
List of attorneys in other states
Ten reasons to worry about your attorney
We strongly recommend that you plead "Not Guilty" at any hearing if charged with domestic violence. There is no easy or fast way out of the situation. Your only way out of this is likely to be a jury trial.
If you plead guilty, accept a plea bargain, or plead no contest to any of the charges against you, the conviction will be virtually impossible to change when you finally discover the horrendous and deleterious effects this has on your life. And by accepting a plea bargain you surrender your rights to an appeal of your conviction.
Note that both the district attorney and an incompetent defense attorney will almost always attempt to get the accused, you, to accept a plea bargain.
The prosecutor can, and will, lie and add on multiple charges to the initial police report in an attempt to bluff you into accepting a plea bargain. For example, the police may arrest you for 3 rd -degree misdemeanor assault involving domestic violence. However, at your arraignment the charges will commonly become felony assault, false imprisonment, child abuse, criminal mischief, and etc., none of which the prosecutor could possibly prove to a jury. These add-on charges are solely intended to scare you into accepting a plea bargain. Third-degree misdemeanor assault involving domestic violence may look like an easy out when it looks like you could face felony assault charges. Don't believe their bluff.
Also note that if you accept a plea bargain that is an admission of guilt and you surrender your right to appeal.
A plea bargain is an easy victory for the prosecutor and saves incompetent and dishonest attorneys the time and effort of preparing for trial even though (s)he still collects their fee. Thus, the attorneys both win and you lose in a plea bargain because the law, C.R.S. § 18-6-801(3), does not allow a plea bargain to a charge that does not involve domestic violence. If your attorney suggests a plea bargain, unless you are unquestionably guilty, first get rid of them as fast as you can. Next, we would like to know about it, particularly if the attorney appears on the lists below because they will be removed and placed on our blacklist.
Almost daily we hear from men and women who tell us they couldn't afford an attorney and took a plea bargain. Now the real costs of their conviction are evident they want to find a lawyer.
It just doesn't work that way!
You must defend yourself with everything you have from the day you are charged. And don't count on a public defender to be of much help. Even in the unlikely event they are competent attorneys, each public defender will have from several hundred to a thousand cases. While your life is on the line, it's just one case out of a thousand to them unless you are charged with a serious felony or homicide.
You will have already lost your home and children by this point and getting them back is not going to be cheap, fast, or easy. In fact, under current laws it may well be impossible. Along this line you should also definitely read the following article by Paul Stuckle, Esq., discussing a criminal defense attorney's view of the DV industry.
The court and treatment costs if you plead guilty will be nearly equal to the cost of an attorney and the almost certain loss of your employment will make an attorney's fees look cheap. If you are innocent the up-front cost of an attorney will be nothing compared to the lifetime costs of copping a plea. But a basic problem is finding a competent attorney the first time out.
Nearly all attorneys lack the education one might reasonably expect of a sophomore science or engineering student, while they all seem to major in arrogance at law school. So don't think the first attorney you talk to is the man, or woman, who will save your life for you. The odds are 9 out of 10 than any attorney you encounter will be an incompetent, ignorant, arrogant, money grubbing, south-end of a northbound donkey. Take your time and follow the suggestions below to get safely through the minefield of attorney selection.
Going into this you might also want to familiarize yourself with the concept of Holodeck Law and the associated litigation vortex.
If the actions against you are part of a divorce, remember it is very much in the interest of at least one of the attorneys, probably hers, to keep the level of antagonism between the two of you at a maximum level to increase the legal fees.
Be aware that there is a very good chance she has filed domestic violence charges, or taken out a protection order against you in order to cover up her infidelity.
The most prevalent situation where domestic violence charges are filed in a divorce that have been reported to the Equal Justice Foundation is after the husband finds evidence his wife is having an affair . So, even if you don't know whether she is unfaithful, it might be well worthwhile to hire a private investigator to check.
In fact, you might find a private investigator a very useful person to hire to help you prove your innocence.
If you have children there is a one-in-three chance that you are not the father. Maternity is a fact; paternity is an opinion. So see the section on paternity fraud and get DNA testing done on all the children as soon as possible. You certainly don't want to pay child support for children that are not yours, though the courts may force you to anyway. But it is much better to know up front and such knowledge can play an extremely important role in defending yourself from false allegations.
Accept the fact that you are considered guilty until you can prove your innocence, due process will not be followed, perjury is acceptable, and hearsay will be used against you. Thus, we consider Dean Tong's book Elusive Innocence a must read if you have been falsely accused in any domestic situation, including child or sexual abuse. Other items of use are Dean Tong's article on the abuse excuse . Also, see False Allegations and you should follow their:
• First steps in your defense.
If you have children be aware that the woman is very likely to charge you with child abuse and sexual abuse, as well as domestic violence or abuse in a custody battle.
If you are bonded, have a security clearance, work for a public agency such as the fire department, carry a weapon, work with or transport hazardous materials, or use explosives, you are in particularly bad trouble. Job reference checks on COcourt will also show you have a record so it may be difficult or impossible to get new employment. We have encountered a number of cases where men had intended to become policemen, sheriff's deputies, firefighters, truck drivers, etc., and vindictive and vengeful wives and girlfriends have charged them with domestic violence in order to destroy their hopes and ambitions.
You are the one who knows your case best. No one can help you unless and until you communicate the essentials of the issues to them.
To make any sense out of your case, anyone who looks at it will need a timeline of events describing what happened, when, where, and with whom. Thus, before talking to any attorney you should prepare a timeline of events so both of you have a reference as to what happened, when, and to whom.
By a timeline we mean a sequential tabulation of events listed in order by date (and time if important) with a succinct description of the event.
• September 5, 1985 - Met (wife's maiden name) in xxxx.
• November 15, 1986 - Married (wife's name) in xxxx
• April 12, 1987 - Daughter or son (name) born in xxxx.
• June 20, 1990 - Filed for divorce from (wife's name) in ____ County, (State). Case number _______. Copy of filing in Appendix xxxx.
• March 15, 1992 - Final decree entered by (Judge's Name) in (court). Brief description of terms. Copy of decree in Appendix xxxx.
• November 22, 2001 - (ex-wife) claimed I slapped her and called her names.
• December 12, 2001 - (ex-wife) obtained protection order in (court and judge's name) in (county, state). Case number ______. Terms of protection order are xxxxx. Order expires on (date). Copy of order in Appendix xxxx.
• And so on throughout the whole history of applicable past and current relationship(s), arrest(s), and court case(s).
Be sure to include all past criminal cases, suicide attempts, drug or alcohol abuse, and the outcome for all parties involved. For example, if you or she have been involved in a domestic violence case with a previous partner that is critical information for an attorney.
Your attorney will also need any information you have on how to contact the individuals involved, e.g., the court, case number, phone number, names of judges, other parties, e.g. wife or girlfriend, wife's new boyfriend, arresting officers, opposing counsel, guardian ad litem, potential witnesses, evaluators and other court cronies, psychiatrists or psychologists, kids, paternity testing lab, etc. Remember, if the attorney or his paralegal have to assemble this information it will cost big bucks and can't possibly be as complete or accurate.
An attorney cannot defend you against something he doesn't know about and he most definitely won't appreciate finding out some damaging information from the prosecutor or opposing counsel. So be as honest and complete as you possibly can in putting together the timeline. And don't be afraid to add to the tabulation if you've forgotten something initially.
When you have your thoughts in order and a timeline to give you perspective take a moment and define what you want the outcome to be. Be sure and discuss that desired outcome with your attorney to see if it is realistic and achievable. One of the best measures of any attorney is whether they give you a dispassionate, honest evaluation of your situation and your desired outcome.
Gather together all receipts, telephone records (cell phone companies can tell where you were when a phone call was made), traffic tickets, credit card statements, airline tickets, doctor or dental visits, day planners, appointment records, toll slips, gas purchases, motel receipts, car rentals, emails sent, date-stamped photographs, and any other documentation of where you were and what you were doing during any time periods in question. Assemble this documentation in chronological order and associate the documentation with the timeline events.
Another benefit of putting together a timeline is that many men have found they couldn't possibly have been present and done what they are charged with. For example, in the example timeline above the ex-wife claims he "slapped her and called her names" on November 22, 2001. In review that is Thanksgiving and he was in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with his parents while she was in Denver, and he has airline tickets and car rental receipts, as well as the testimony (or affidavits) of his parents and siblings to prove it. Cell phone records can also be used to prove one was in a given location at a given time.
When you suspect problems might arise we also strongly recommend the use of appropriate surveillance methods to document the events.
Before hiring any attorney we suggest you check out the A-Team's Web site. We strongly suggest you spend some time with the A-Team's Top Ten lists:
• Top Ten Things to do When Falsely Accused
• Top Ten Qualities to Look for In a Lawyer
• Top Ten Questions to ask Your Lawyer
• Top Ten Things Dads Seeking Custody Need to Know
The A-Team is made up of trial consultants, lawyers, psychologists, medical doctors and other experts. You will probably need more than one these specialties no matter where you turn for help.
Good criminal defense lawyers are intelligent, honest, experienced, responsible, available, cautious, caring, sensitive about cost, hard to find, and have excellent oral and written communication skills. Unfortunately, it bears repeating that most attorneys major in arrogance in law school, and haven't the education one would expect of a sophomore engineering or science student. It seems to be the latter class of attorneys who are most likely to become judges but they certainly are not what you want to defend you. So use the Top Ten lists above as a checklist to measure any and all attorneys you are considering for your defense. We maintain a blacklist of attorneys who have proven dishonest or incompetent and, for EJF members and contributors, we will verify whether or not an attorney you are considering appears on that blacklist or not if you send us an email request.
Now that you have a realistic idea of what you are faced with, take a hard look at yourself. Are you really innocent? Are you prepared to defend yourself through a battle that will last at least six months, though more likely years, and probably cost between $2,500 and $10,000? Six figures for attorney fees aren't rare. Is it any wonder the legal system likes these laws so much?
Conversely, if you don't defend yourself you will likely spend at least $1,000 for the treatment program mandated by the court, and an additional $400-$500 in court and other costs. You are also out the cost of new housing, wardrobe, etc. because the protection order is permanent.
As it can be virtually impossible to avoid violating the protection order if the woman is vindictive, you could also be facing jail time. So $2,500+ for an attorney up front may look like it would have been a worthwhile investment down the road. But once you have pled guilty, plea bargained the charge, failed to appear at a hearing, or tried to ignore these actions in the hope that they will simply go away, you have virtually no chance to make changes to the lifetime sentence you are under.
Or are you willing to accept a lifetime sentence and slink away from everything you own and have worked for? Society has evolved the term "Deadbeat Dad" for men who do that although usually the more proper description is "Driven-Away Dad." Either way you lose everything you have ever worked for.
If, like us, you believe that your freedom and children are as precious as life itself and must be defended, you will need an attorney. If your children are involved, you will have very few options without an attorney, and those precious little people have already been taken from you.
Other sources of help can be found in the listed Web sites and you will want to do some law research. Your attorney is going to need your help and it is essential that you are intimately familiar with the laws under which you have been charged. Links are provided to the relevant laws in Colorado but you will have to do your own research if you live in another state or country. Do the research!
And, yes, we realize these laws are making attorneys rich. Long ago Dickens' observed "The one great principle of the...law is to make business for itself." We are working to get the laws changed but you are in trouble now.
In the longer term, a contribution to the Equal Justice Foundation will help as well. This information may be free to you but there are multiple expenses involved in providing it.
Disclaimer: The site, www.dvmen.org, the Equal Justice Foundation and anyone affiliated with it, are not responsible for the litigator's efforts or results in your case should you retain one or more of the attorneys listed in Table 1 or Table 2.The Equal Justice Foundation does not receive any financial remuneration or compensation in kind for these listings.
Colorado's attorneys are licensed and disciplined by the Supreme Court. The court's attorney regulation system, funded by attorney registration fees, polices the profession. In addition, the court oversees the State Court Administrator, Board of Continuing Legal Education, Board of Law Examiners, Commission on Judicial Discipline, and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee.
Findings and opinions about miscreant attorneys are printed monthly by the Colorado Lawyer (click on month of interest then scroll down to Colorado Disciplinary Cases). The actions published are only those cases in which Disciplinary Counsel has taken formal action. To view attorney discipline involving diversion and private admonitions online you must be a member of the Colorado Bar Association.
To find out how many grievances are filed against an attorney you may be concerned about, call the Attorney Regulatory Board at (303) 893-8121 and specifically ask how many complaints were filed against that lawyer. They will give that information on the phone but it is not published.
In practice Disciplinary Counsel acts primarily as an attorney protective association with only rare cases known where unethical or incompetent attorneys are taken to task, i.e, the attorney was convicted of a federal or state felony. Even in the rare cases where disciplinary action is taken, it seldom amounts to more than a slap on the wrist and the weak disciplinary action is usually kept confidential.
To help defendants and others avoid the worst of the lot, attorneys listed in Table 1 and Table 2 are known to, or advertise themselves as representing men charged with domestic violence or abuse. We ask all readers to recommend attorneys for addition to these lists. And any attorney who would like their name added to this list is urged to contact us at webmaster@ejfi.org.
Conversely, if any attorney in these lists known to you has not represented you, or someone you know, aggressively and fairly we would like to know that as well. They will be removed. You may also want to review Ripoff Report to see if an attorney you are considering is listed there.
If contacted by a member or contributor to the Equal Justice Foundation about a particular attorney, whether on these lists or not, we will provide any history of that individual's performance we might be aware of.
The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar also maintains a list of attorneys who will work on an income based sliding scale. While we have very limited experience with most attorneys listed there, if you do not qualify for a public defender we suggest you contact one of the attorneys on their list. Means to evaluate any attorney you consider are given above.
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Highly recommended. Practice includes family law, divorce, mediation, arbitration, and adoption. |
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Focus is criminal defense, especially assault and DV. Over 12-years experience defending men and women accused of DV ranging from 3rd degree assault to 1st degree murder. |
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Primarily handles DV cases, is a former DV prosecutor, and has an excellent reputation for acquittals. Office in Vail and Eagle County phone (970) 476-0268. In Denver area call (303) 809-3425. |
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Collaborative family law and divorce, protection orders, prenuptial and separation agreements, and child custody. For couples who would rather settle than fight. |
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Specializes in domestic violence cases. Nights and weekends (719) 660-5862. |
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Twenty-five years in the courtrooms of the Denver metropolitan area and along the Front Range. Thirteen of those years spent as a senior felony prosecutor in Arapahoe County. |
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Our highest recommendation for handling domestic violence cases. |
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Emphasis is on the representation of fathers in custody or parental responsibility disputes within the Denver Metropolitan Area. |
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Our objective in Table 1 has been to provide a list of attorneys covering the entire State of Colorado who are known to handle DV cases. We have not been able to contact every attorney on the list. The completeness of the information on an attorney is a crude indication of how much contact we have had with them.
Under the current domestic violence and abuse laws virtually every lawyer dealing in family law and divorce has had some experience with criminal defense of violence or child abuse charges. However, in dealing with criminal defense there is no substitute for experience trying cases in front of a jury. Look for an attorney who has experience as an assistant district attorney prior the entering private practice, or who has many years doing criminal defense.
An attorney should only be retained after you have examined their curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé. You should be certain that the lawyer has defended cases similar to yours in a trial successfully. Be certain the attorney you choose has recent and continuing trial experience and is willing to take your case to trial if necessary Many attorneys claim a success if they plea bargain a case to a lesser charge. In domestic violence or abuse cases, in our experience, that is almost universally a very bad outcome for the accused, and is simply an easy out for a lawyer as they get paid without having to do the work.
Some of the attorneys in Table 1 and Table 2 litigate in criminal court only. Some only litigate in family court. Still others specialize in juvenile court or appeals. Be aware that if you are charged with domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual abuse (SAID) during a divorce you will probably need more than one attorney, and probably at least one investigator as well. This isn't going to be cheap but the sentence is for life if you are convicted or plead guilty or nolo contendre (no contest).
You may also want to investigate the Match program run by the Denver Bar Association to find an attorney in Colorado who is willing to work at reduced rates for those who don't qualify for a public defender but lack the means to pay normal rates for an attorney. Fees are negotiable but participating attorneys typically reduce their fees by ~50% for those who qualify. Available only to those individuals who earn less than $23,200 plus $3,200 per dependent per year. The address is 1900 Grant Street, Suite 950, Denver, CO 80203-4336, telephone: (303) 860-1115.
While this Web site deals primarily with the problems of domestic violence and related charges of marital rape, false allegations of child or sexual abuse, and the other myriad weapons of revenge current laws have placed in the hands of Colorado women, we very commonly hear from men and women outside this state.
A common plea is where do they find help? It was a daunting task to assemble the list of Colorado attorneys given in Table 1 who might help these hapless individuals. It is far beyond our capabilities to make a national database of attorneys who work in this ever expanding area of the law. However, we are willing to list those attorneys in other states who make this area of the law a specialty in the hope that some victims of these horribly unjust statutes may be helped.
We have also been helped in the task of assembling attorneys outside Colorado by Dean Tong. Attorneys listed in Appendix D of his book Elusive Innocence have been included here with his permission.
If you know of other attorneys you would care to recommend, or you are an attorney who works with such cases, contact us at webmaster@ejfi.org and we will be pleased to add you to the list in Table 2.
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