The Texas Tornado, Mark Bennett, noted about 8 months ago that a CJA client of his was snagged by a civil lawyer who decided to dabble in criminal defense (I would guess that a rent bill was due).  The client was sitting in jail, and wanted to breath free.  The civil lawyer told the client he could do it, no sweat.

Bennett didn’t mind the fact that his client decided to go with another lawyer.  But was miffed indeed to learn that he went with another lawyer because of a lie.  The new lawyer promised that he would have the guy out in a month.  Eight months later, the defendant sits in the same cell.

This is a message to anyone who is a potential criminal defendant.  Contrary to what you think, that means you.  But for one bad day, you can be the wrongfully maligned perp in the dock too.  Never forget that.

There is no real magic about what criminal defense lawyers can do.  We can work hard and use our experience, skills and imagination to provide you with the best possible chance to get the result you want.

What we cannot do is much clearer:
 
We cannot guarantee a future outcome.  We cannot “buy” your way out of jail.  We cannot manufacture evidence of innocence.  We cannot get prosecutors to cut you loose because we’re old friends.  Same with judges.

If a lawyer tells you he can do any of the above, he’s lying.  If there was one lawyer who had the “answer”, every defendant would hire him and the jails would be empty.  They’re not.  They’re full of people.  Many of the people in the jails had more money than you, are smarter than you and more savvy than you.  And still they’re inside.  That’s because there is no magic bullet in any lawyer’s gun that makes all your problems disappear.

And one last myth that needs to be busted as often as possible:  Private lawyers practice law for a living, which means that they charge clients a fee based upon the amount of work they anticipate doing.  If a lawyer charges you $1000 for a serious criminal case, that means that he’s going to plead you guilty at the next court date.  If a lawyer charges you $10,000 for a case, that means he’s going to plead you guilty right before trial.

How do I know this?  It’s all in the numbers.  Say a middle of the road criminal defense lawyer plans to earn $250 an hour.  Take the total fee and divide by the hourly fee:  $10,000 divided by $250 is 40 hours.  The lawyer plans to spend a total of 40 hours on your case.  That’s one week of his life, spread over the length of the case. 

That one week of his life includes the meetings and time on the telephone.  It includes the legal research and preparation of papers, motions, memoranda.  It covers the time in court, including the time waiting around to have the case called.  It covers visiting the crime scene, speaking with witnesses, reviewing the discovery. 

And it covers hearings and trial?  Where exactly do you see that fitting in? 

The times involved differ for different types of offenses.  A DWI isn’t going to be the same as a murder or drug conspiracy.  And I’m basing this on New York practice, and things may be different elsewhere (though not significantly in my experience around the country). 

So if a lawyer tells you that he can take your case to trial for a fee, just run the numbers.  A better lawyer is going to charge more than $250 an hour, and put in a lot more time at every stage of the proceeding.  If some lawyer tells you can do it on the cheap, then you’re going to get what you pay for.

Like I said, it’s not magic.  Don’t fall for a lie.