I woke up at 4am on Saturday morning. I couldn't sleep. I went outside on my back porch, opened a beer and lit a cigar. I started thinking about a young man charged with rape. He is 17 years old and until recently quarterback of his high school football team. His family came to me recently to talk to me about his case. He has a lawyer, but judging by the course of his defense I understand his families concern about this young man's future. The case doesn't seem reasonable to me. The girl claimed that this boy forced her into his car and he further forced his finger into her vagina - hence the rape. However, this supposedly happened at 11am during school. Considering the miliary philosphy of these high schools, I have trouble believing that she could have been forced anywhere without someone noticing. No investigation has been done but trial begins in less than two months. This boy spent thirty days in juvenile custody with no history of past violence. That sounds like a setup to me. The prosecutor charged this boy as a "pseudo juvenile" so he is facing 40 years. I want to help, but the family can't afford the firm.?
Now, I know what you are thinking.... but we can't just represent people for reduced fees anymore. We would be swamped and unable to help the people who pay us. Still this kid haunts me. He needs good representation and good investigation. It's expensive but his future depends on it. I can't help thinking about my own son. I need to do something.?
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A little update on my client who was charged with Heroin possession in Federal Court… As you may recall, the guidelines suggested 120 months. I filed objections to the PSR and a sentencing memorandum suggesting that the Judge should lower the punishment to what the guidelines would have recommended without the cocaine allegations. In a packed courtroom, the Judge stated that the guidelines were unfair as applied to my client and lowered the sentence to 63 months. I breathed a sigh of relief. My client was saved five years of his life. Interestingly, my son was on summer break and was hanging out with me at the office. I had taken him to the sentencing hearing. Afterwards he asked, "Dad, the next time you take me to court can I come when you are going to win?" If only he knew!
Recently Bill and I represented a client who was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. His potential punishment was astronomical. A conviction or even deferred adjudication would have left him with the horrendous reality of registering as a sex offender for the rest of his life! We actually got his case dismissed twice. The first time was on trial day. The prosecutor- I think as a result of pressure from the family - re-filed the case. The case was dismissed again a week before the next trial setting. The prosecutor agreed to dismiss and re-file the case as public lewdness. Public Lewdness is a misdemeanor, with no registration requirement. After some pressure, the prosecutor agreed to allow for expunction of the felony. Then he agreed to a deferred of the public lewdness. Then he agreed to a non-disclosure of the misdemeanor! (For those of you who don't understand the importance of these dispositions, go to http://www.houstoncriminallaw.com/ and check out the FAQ.) Bottom Line: This man, who was facing the potential of life in prison AND registering for life, will now have his entire record erased, except for notations on law enforcement computers. He was understandably happy. Later, in a moment of stress, he called Bill to complain about pleading to a Class A misdemeanor instead of a Class B. This despite the fact that he completely understood that in his situation there was no meaningful distinction. Nice.
We have a client who is a Doctor. She was charged with the felony offense of endangering a child in Brazoria County. Because she was not a citizen, any felony conviction would have subjected her to removal. Any misdemeanor considered aggravated could also have caused her deportation. She had two kids and a thriving practice. Although no more important than any of our other clients, she had much more to lose. I probably heard from her four times a week. I met with her so often; I put a picture of her entire family on my desk. I had told her that I considered her to be part of my extended family, so she brought me a photo! (My son was really confused about that one.) Without going into all that Alan, Bill and I did to resolve the case… which took well over a year by the way… the Bottom Line: The felony was dismissed and re-filed as a misdemeanor assault. We got that further reduced to an attempted assault and she received a year deferred on that. Alan (also known as Obe Wan) deserves credit for that one! How the hell do you attempt an assault? Obe Wan had to go to the DA herself to get that approved. Our client was deathly afraid to go to trial (and for good reason) but we had to threaten with a trial to get the deal done. She was thrilled. She got all that she wanted. I haven't heard from her since. Not one thank you. Nice.
Of course, I'm just whining. I don't blame a client for wanting to put their nightmare behind them, and I am part of that nightmare for better or worse. I can’t tell you how many times I have given a card to someone who shoved it into their pocket along with the statement that they hoped to God they would never need me. But some do, naturally. Our Mission Statement points out that all of our clients are family and we are responsible for their well being, but that doesn't mean we are wanted. Let’s be realistic. We are needed, not wanted. That distinction is important. We have an overflowing collection of thank you letters from former clients and family members. We collect the letters and put them into a book that we place in the waiting room. It’s good PR but it serves another more important purpose. Whenever I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders I go to that book. It serves to remind me of what we mean to the people we represent. It gets me through. I will not soon forget the calls I get from clients who call just to tell me how well they are doing. What a high that is! I was kind of looking forward to hearing from my Doctor client.
To conclude this update, some time after the sentencing in the heroin case, my son and I were in a major supermarket near our house. We were in the refrigerated section. A man came over to us, introduced himself as the manager, and asked if he could help us find something. I made some joke about how I only looked helpless. The manager looked familiar. He looked hard at me and then asked if my name was Ed Chernoff. I told him it was. He smiled and held out his hand, which I shook. He told me his name and it was then that I recognized him and his case. He said, "You helped me out a couple years ago. I’m doing great, and I want to thank you!." I thanked him back. He looked down at my son and told him, "Your father is a great lawyer, did you know that?" When he walked away, I turned to my son and said, "You see boy, now that is what winning is all about." He smiled and said "Dad, you rock!" Nice.
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