Treat your first meeting as a business consultation. While you are trying to develop a friendly rapport with your lawyer, you also want him or her to see you as a serious client with serious needs.
ROLL CALL: 1. A mandatory gang meeting. 2. The official start of a new shift for prison staff. ROAD DOG: Prisoners who walk the track together during recreation periods; can also mean a close friend. ROAD KILL: Cigarette butts picked up by the side of the road by prison work crew.
TICKETRON OR TICKETMASTER: A guard who is known to write many tickets or disciplinary reports. TIME TO FEED THE WARDEN: Needing to go to the bathroom. TOOCHIE OR TUCHIE: Synthetic marijuana. Toochie has become popular in prison because it can’t be detected in urine analysis.
RATCHETTE: A common term for a nurse. REC: Short for recreation; the one hour per day when prisoners can leave their cells. RIDE LEG: To suck up to prison staff to get favors. ROBOCOP: Guard who writes up every infraction, even minor ones. ROLL CALL: 1. A mandatory gang meeting. 2. The official start of a new shift for prison staff.
An Initial consultation is a 90 minute consultation for a new client who would like to meet with a psychologist to discuss current issues and/or concerns and talk about strategies and goals for therapy and/or a treatment plan.
The right to counsel “attaches” when formal judicial proceedings have begun. An accused is entitled to have counsel present and participating at all “critical stages” of the process.
What Counts As Unequivocally? Invoking your right to counsel unequivocally means doing so clearly and concisely. Police are not required to ask if you want a lawyer, or to stop their questioning to give you time to get a lawyer. Instead, you must affirmatively and deliberately ask for one.
Tips For Meeting With Your Lawyer For the First TimeDress To Impress. ... Be Ready To Give Your Attorney Important Information About Yourself. ... Gather Your Evidence And Have It Ready For Your First Meeting. ... Get Your Facts Straight. ... Plan Something You Can Look Forward To For After Your Meeting.
Arraignments, plea negotiations, and sentencing hearings, for example, are all critical stages of a case.
The 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution, ratified as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right...to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” The 14th Amendment, which prohibits states from “depriv[ing] any person of life, ...
The amendment that gives you the right to the assistance of counsel at all stages of a criminal investigation or prosecution is the Sixth (6th) Amendment. You can invoke your right to counsel by saying, “I want to speak to an attorney. I am not answering any other questions until after I speak to an attorney.”
An individual can only invoke the Fifth Amendment in response to a communication that is compelled, such as through a subpoena or other legal process. The communication must also be testimonial in nature. In other words, it must relate to either express or implied assertions of fact or belief.
In order to invoke your right to remain silent, you simply have to say, “I am invoking my right to remain silent and won't be answering any more questions without a lawyer.” At this point, the officers should leave you alone.
All attorneys meet with prospective clients in what is called an initial consultation. This is a first meeting between you and the lawyer to help you both decide whether you want to work together in an attorney-client relationship.
Day of consultation The standard attire for meeting with you lawyer should be business casual. Wear dress pants, a nice shirt or top. Women should wear a conservative dress or skirt. Nothing too revealing.
During your consultation, the attorney will ask about the issues in your case and discuss the merits of the actions and the various ways you can proceed. There will then be a mutual selection process.
An initial meeting with your attorney is important, not just for exchanging information about your case, but also for building rapport and trust. Commonly, you will first have a short phone call with the lawyer, who will then ask to meet you in person. If you aren't yet certain you plan to use this lawyer, ...
What Should I Bring? 1 A pen and pad of paper or the electronic equivalent! In the course of your conversation with your attorney, you will surely want to write down notes on any issues or questions that arise. 2 A list of questions. Clients often have a million questions and concerns before a meeting, one or more of which they then forget to ask when sitting face to face with their attorney. Write these questions down ahead of time, to make sure you get every query answered while you're sitting there. 3 A check for the initial consultation fee, if your attorney charges one. This should be discussed ahead of the meeting. Nothing gets a lawyer-client relationship off on the wrong foot faster than forgetting to make your first payment. Presenting that fee immediately shows that you're taking the relationship seriously. 4 Any documents relevant to your case. If, for example, you are negotiating a lease and want the lawyer to review it, you should obviously bring a copy of the draft lease. If possible, make multiple copies of each document you give to your lawyer, so that you can take a set back home. (Or you can ask the lawyer's office to make the copies, but you'll likely be charged at premium rates for those.)
In the course of your conversation with your attorney, you will surely want to write down notes on any issues or questions that arise. A list of questions. Clients often have a million questions and concerns before a meeting, one or more of which they then forget to ask when sitting face to face with their attorney.
By the end of your meeting, you should leave with a clear understanding of what you've accomplished and what's ahead. Remember, you are under no obligation to hire a particular attorney merely because you had an initial meeting.
In most cases, honesty is in your best interest. Lawyers seldom see cases that are cut and dried, with one party completely the "good guy.". It 's much better for the lawyer to know any bad news up front than to be surprised later with revelations you failed to share.
The initial appearance starts the criminal process in court. At this first hearing, sometimes referred to as an arraignment, arrestees learn of the charges filed against them. This hearing is likely just the first of many hearings to come.
When arraignments are combined with initial appearances, the hearing must be held “as soon as is reasonably feasible , but in no event later than 48 hours after arrest.” (Weekends are included within those 48 hours.) Under federal law, if the hearing is held later than 48 hours post-arrest, and the delay was not “reasonable,” confessions by the defendant should be suppressed. The government must convince the judge that an emergency caused the delay (inability to find an available judge on a Friday afternoon would not normally constitute an emergency). In practice, however, defendants prevail only when they’re able to link the delay to their conviction, as when, for example, critical evidence is lost between arrest and hearing and would have been secured but for the defendant’s tardy day in court.
Or, after a defendant has been arraigned on the prosecutor’s filed “complaint,” the prosecutor may bring the case before the grand jury, which might issue an “information.” The defendant will be entitled to a subsequent arraignment on this new charging document.
If the judge decides that not enough evidence exists to reasonably suspect that a crime was committed and the defendant committed it, the judge will dismiss the case. Plea. The court might take the defendant’s plea —guilty or not guilty—at this point.
From Arrest to the Courtroom. When people are arrested for allegedly committing a crime, the police will take them to the local jail for booking. Jail personnel will confiscate and store the person’s belongings, such as wallets, keys, and phones, and take fingerprints and photographs. Arrestees are placed in a jail cell, ...
When people are arrested for allegedly committing crimes, they must be taken before a judge relatively quickly to learn of the charges against them, their constitutional rights, any bail options, and other matters.
Having a Lawyer at Your Initial Appearance. All of the above can happen in a matter of minutes. If possible, it’s best to have a lawyer by your side. A criminal defense lawyer can guide you through the process, make arguments to get you out of jail or reduce bail, and protect your constitutional rights.
My initial consultations take about 1 ½ hours on average. Based on experience, I find that clients stop absorbing information after that amount of time and sometimes they are emotionally exhausted.
We’re going to have a detailed conversation. I am primarily going to listen to you. I will ask questions to guide the discussion so I can get a better picture of what’s happening in your life and to learn what are your primary concerns and goals. You will also have ample time to ask me questions.
Divorce: In general, divorce includes four broad topics – property, debt, children (if applicable), and alimony (also called spousal support).
New court cases: Generally, if there is no pending court deadline or hearing, it’s not necessary to bring any papers with you for the initial consultation. Some people feel more confident if they have a checklist to help them prepare for meetings.
Nowadays, families have options for resolving their disputes. You can still go to court and let the judge make the decisions, but you also can take more control over the ultimate outcome by utilizing either the Collaborative procedure or mediation/settlement facilitation.
At the end of the initial consultation, I will provide you with the Representation & Fee Agreement. This is a contract that spells out the responsibilities each of us as if you choose to hire me to represent you. It explains my fees and your payment obligations. The retainer is set.
There is usually a flurry of activity at the beginning of a case. You will work closely with the paralegal in gathering documents and financial records. The appropriate pleading will be drafted. If there is a court hearing coming up, I will prepare for it and prepare you for what you will likely do in the courtroom.
How much is enough - daily? Some people do not do time well. They call their attorneys several times a day, and complain about not having contact even though contact was sufficient to handle the matter. We are not social workers. And you are not the attorney's client.
This is the most common complaint about any attorney, criminal defense or otherwise. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to touch base with your attorney at the same time they are available. To answer your question, there is no constitutional right that grants a certain amount of time to have access to your attorney.
I do not practice in MT, but in my state, KY, an inmate can call his attorney by telephone. It is usually a collect phone call that my secretary accepts on my behalf. This is useful to keep in touch without making a jail visit.
Prison Slang: The Complete Guide. Anyone who has watched their fair share of prison dramas on television, like Oz, Prison Break, or Orange is the New Black, or classic films like The Shawshank Redemption, knows that prison inmates have created their own complex language of slang terms used to describe common actions and items ...
PROGRAMMER: An inmate who spends most of their time attending classes and trying to grow as a person. PRUNO: A homemade alcohol made from fruit, bread and anything with sugar (like jelly), tootsie rolls, and left to rot under a cot for three days. PUMPKINS: A term for new inmates.
DOBIE: A biscuit or roll, derived from the word "adobe," which means "brick". DOING THE DUTCH: Killing yourself in prison. DOTTED UP: A term for having tattoos. DROP A SLIP: Snitch on another inmate by reporting them in writing and placing the paper in the same box as other requests for assistance.
A fish is new to prison politics and the reality of how facilities are managed. FISHING LINE: Made from torn sheets or string. Used to throw down the run to inmates in other cells to pass contraband.
ERASERS: Pieces of processed chicken. EYEBALL: When someone is staring at you or your things, they are said to be "eyeballing" you. Likely with nefarious intent.
BINKY: Due to the difficulty of smuggling syringes into prison, a binky is a homemade syringe that is made out of an eyedropper, a pen shaft, and a guitar string. BLUES: Prison outfit. Name derived from the color of the clothes, which are often blue.