Other Criminal Charges & Offenses appointed lawyer communication

[lonestar2810]

My husband has been in county jail for 3 months and his appointed lawyer has only been to speak to him once, right before his hearing. At the hearing, he would not utilize the private room to discuss a possible plea. The plea offer was 18 yrs (2yrs less than the max for his charge). My husband would not except the offer, so they set a trial date. That was a month ago. He has not been to see my husband since and my mother-in-law and I have both been trying to call and speak with him for the past month. (He only has a cell # , no office #). We have left message after message with no response or call back. I need advice on what to do? Can we request a new lawyer? Is this lack of communication sufficient cause to request a new lawyer? We live 7 hours away, so we can't just drive up to talk to him. Plz help? I don't know what to do.

 

[army judge]

The lawyer doesn't have to speak to you. Most of those lawyers are required to do so many cheap, charity (pro bono) cases a year.

Your husband can simply write a letter to the judge asking that his current lawyer be fired and that court appoint him new counsel.

A copy should also go to the lawyer. Or, he can wait for the trial date and ask to be heard in open court. Then he requests the firing and replacement in open court.

If he has priors, he's lucky to get offered 2 years off if a 20 year bit. If its an aggravated crime, he's going to get 17 to 20 years anyway, with felony priors. They make deals, but it's not Let's Make a Deal.