Subject of the day: Avoiding Irritable Momma Syndrome.
I just received a heap of verbal abuse from a client's irate mother. The client, who is a college student and is charged with Minor Driving Under the Influence, came into our office on this own and hired us on his own. When the client retained us, he did not specifically give us permission to speak with others about the case. Now mom and dad are upset because my office won't discuss the case with them. Keep this in mind: even though the charge may be "minor" driving under the influence, the client is an adult, and we are required to treat him like one.
That means, under the rules of professional responsibility and confidentiality that we have to live by, we can't discuss the case with others, even relatives, unless the client gives us permission. Beyond that, it's also just a simple matter of respect to the client as an adult. In addition, many of our client's don't want their relatives (parents included) to even know that they have a criminal case. And as I have had to explain to many a mom, no, it doesn't matter who really "paid" the bill. We only have one client -- that's the guy who's charged, and that's who we listen to. When you hire us, be crystal clear. If you want us to discuss the case with other people, let us know.
Six times is the charm. Six times. That's how many times my mentally retarded client (IQ of 62) had to go through the criminal justice system before a court decided it needed to ask whether or not his mental health issues might be contributing to him getting in trouble. My client (I'll call him "Joe') was charged in Comal County with misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana. Joe had five prior marijuana convictions. In all five of the previous cases, he had court-appointed lawyers who pled him guilty without bothering to inquire into his mental health issues, even though having a conversation with Joe is like speaking with a child.
You may notice a large gap in the blog posts. We have been busy moving our Seguin office to nicer digs. Our landlord is a professional landscape photographer (when he isn't helping to run the local bowling alley) so there are lot of cool pictures in the building to check out. We are now at 314 N. Austin, Ste. 104, here in Seguin. Our phone numbers are still the same. We soon will be getting a newer crib in New Braunfels, as well. I know of some of our clients are fond of our funky old law shack, so it's sort of the end of an era. Don't know if we can convince Edna the friendly office poltergeist to move with down the street with us. Keep you posted.