Why you should always be represented by an attorney

Yesterday in court a client previously represented by my office came in to court and decided to represent himself to ask the court for an extension on the classes he was ordered to attend.

Big mistake.

The judge, not one for giving more than one extension throughout the life of a case, took him into custody. He couldn't be seen in the afternoon session, so he was brought back this morning.

The judges indicated for the violation of probation was the max; one year in county jail.

I took the case, and after reviewing the file I saw that probation had actually already run out and the court had lost jurisdiction, therefore he had to be released immediately.

So, the case got called, the judge asked me what I was planning to do and I informed him of the situation. He told my client to be very thankful that I had taken his case because if it wasn't for me noticing that probation had expired he would have been sentenced to a year. My client was way ahead of him since he couldn't stop thanking me over and over again. If he wouldn't have been in handcuffs, he would have bear hugged me for sure.

And for the record, I do not mean to toot my own horn as much as I want to share a good outcome for a client, since they are so often few and far between.