Two year statute of limitations on cases

One of the first question I ask prospective clients when they call about civil matters is when did the incident happen. While we need to learn what is alleged to have happened there may be nothing that we can do to help if the statute of limitations has run. In order to preserve your case it is always best to discuss the matter with an attorney right after the incident happens. There are a number of other reasons to take action immediately. For example, if you have been injured in a car wreck as a result of another driver acting negligently it is important that pictures are taken of the damage and recollections of the event are recorded. If the case involves a local or state government there are more specific rules regarding preserving your claim. A notice of claim must first be filed within 6 months to a year of the incident. Don't wait until it's too late to take action.

Municipal Courts Creating Debtors Prisons

Debtor's prisons have been illegal for years right? Well, not exactly if you look at some of the practices in municipal courts. The town of Harpersville, Alabama has been criticized for some very unsavory practices that lead to a number of folks incarcerated simply because they could not pay a debt. Fortunately, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Hub Harrington, stepped in and halted those practices with a recent court order.

The judge found evidence that the city would turn over to the private probation company, Judicial Corrections Services, cases in which Municipal Court defendants could not immediately pay the court-imposed fine and costs. Many defendants later were locked up, some on bogus failure-to-appear complaints, resulting in more charges that led to more fines, court costs -- and more debt, the judge wrote.

Unfortunately, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg as there are several other towns and cities in the State of Alabama that are said to have similar practices. The good news is that the Harpersville situation will likely encourage others who have been in this predicament to speak up and expose those practices.

Excessive Force Cases

We get a number of calls about potential excessive force cases. However, we only are able to take on a handful of these cases each year for a number of reasons. A couple of observations we would like to share and some factors that we consider when we evaluate a case: 1. In Alabama it is very tough to pierce the veil of immunity that the State and the Counties are afforded. While the standards of immunity for municipal governments is lower it still can be difficult. 2. We generally only file excessive force cases in Federal Court.Generally, Federal Court cases are more expensive. 3. Law enforcement officials often fail to follow procedure in using force but unless there are quantified physical damages it makes it a very difficult case for us to handle and receive any sort of settlement for our clients. 4. It is very hard to have a successful case without witnesses to the action. If someone witnesses an action it is recommended that you obtain all their contact information immediately. 5. These cases take months to investigate before we can make a decision as to if a lawsuit is warranted.

Rodney King passed away this weekend. His death has given us time to pause and reflect on how the incident of his beating which was videotaped has affected our society. The LAPD got a black eye from their handling of the Rodney King videotaped beating. This is perhaps the first great example of something caught by a citizen journalist going viral through the media outlets. Now it's not uncommon for something that is caught to explode via You Tube. But twenty years ago, we weren't that sophisticated. My recollection of the beating was dismay and sadness. I thought, "How could the police beat somebody up like that?". Now, I realize that it was far too common back then and far too common even now. Perhaps now the incidents have a greater chance of getting seen by someone with an camera phone. How many people were stopped and beaten over the years where all evidence disappeared? The King incident triggered the L.A. riots as the officers who attacked him were acquitted. So sadness turned to misplaced anger and then I believe a few years later were the catalyst for O.J. Simpson to be found not guilty by a California jury. Rodney King could have been anyone, black white or hispanic. That's what made his story so powerful. As he died at a young age yesterday we see a man who never recovered from these events. He faced a number of criminal charges over the next couple of decades and could not kick his addictions. Hopefully, as we reflect over the next few days we will ponder if these events in the 1990's had any long term effect on race relations today.

Some of our recent activity - New Federal Lawsuit filed

We were extremely busy in the fall quarter of 2011 and that spilled over into early 2012.

Last month, we filed a Federal lawsuit on behalf of a Montevallo Pastor who had warrants for his arrest and was listed on Shelby County's Most Wanted list because he was falsely accused of selling drugs. These warrants were based on bad information which was never corroborated. We generally believe it is not a wise idea to comment about pending litigation, but you can read about the lawsuit in various news reports around the state and several blogs have covered this story.

Our criminal defense practice has been extremely active as well as we have taken on a number of new clients charged with serious offenses. Regardless of whether someone feels an offense is "serious", it is always a wise idea to consult with an attorney. Many factors determine the potential penalties and fines. Although a Defendant may not end up with any jail time in a case they could be fined several thousand dollars for traffic offenses which puts an enormous strain on household finances. Simply discussing this situation with an attorney can help alleviate those worries.

We will check back in soon. Feel free to contact us with any general questions or more specific.

Recent Case Success - Felony Reduced to a Misdemeanor

We had a trial set for this Monday. However, we were able to get the case resolved as the charge was reduced from an identity theft to an attempted identity theft and a felony was avoided.

Reducing many theft charges to attempted thefts can save someone from getting a felony on their record. When you plea to a felony charge or are convicted of a felony you are potentially giving up many rights and putting a blemish on your record that cannot generally be undone.

Mental Illness and the Police

As both a criminal defense attorney and a civil rights attorney, I interact with a number of clients who have been diagnosed with serious mental illness. I also believe that I have represented many more clients over the years who have an undiagnosed mental illness.

Mental health issues are very important in my area of practice.

Just this morning I read about an officer in Washington State who was convicted of beating a man to death diagnosed with schizophrenia.

This is just one example of the police and mistreatment of those that are extremely vulnerable. Certainly better training would help but as we know many of our police departments are facing cutbacks of resources.

I firmly believe that one area that we should not skimp is in the area of mental health services. However, as we know many of our government officials ignore the strain that lack of resources in mental health have on our criminal justice system. Therefore, we continue to do the best we can in representing our folks and unfortunately get prepared to see more examples of mistreatment like that of Mr. Zehm in Washington.