the Price of Criminal Defense Lawyers

I had gotten into a little bit of trouble because of an addiction to prescription pain medications. I had entered the apartment of an acquaintance when I knew he was gone and took some of his pain medication. I was charged with a felony and faced some possible jail time. I had never been in any kind of legal trouble in my entire life, not even a speeding ticket, so I had nowhere to start. My lawyer accepted a fee of $5000 to make a plea agreement, and would have taken it to trial for $7500.

I received what I wanted, I suppose. I stayed out of jail. I am on a two year deferred judgment, so as long as I don't have any new cases and stay away from drugs and alcohol and check in with my probation officer every other month, I am in compliance. I am not sure his services were really worth $5000, but I suppose it is a small price to pay to be at home with my kids and my husband. I have had no contact with my attorney since July of 2006. I have called a few times to have some questions answered regarding the technical legalities of my case, probation rules, etc, as well as for my return to court next month, and he has not returned my phone calls. I have no idea what happens next, and when I have completed my deferred judgment and my case gets dropped, how do I have my arrest record sealed? I probably could have spent about $2500 less and had the same result, but I think maybe the attorney knew I would not really know the difference. At least I am out of jail, right?

Ask around before hiring an attorney. I didn't really have any kind of connections. I had never been in trouble before, and I kind of keep to myself. I didn't know who would be good and who would take advantage of me. Meet with a few attorneys before settling on one. I was nervous and scared, so I went with the only attorney out of twenty who I called who would meet me that same day. Be somewhat patient. You don't have all the time in the world, but you do have a couple of weeks, and you shouldn't just jump at the first attorney who can see you right then and there. There are some good ones out there, just be sure to take the time to find them.