Asked 6/25/2016 – Midland, TX

My husband and I had been drinking and got into a heated argument. I blared a stun gun off to get his attention while sleeping and he reacted by putting me in a head lock and slapping me. He immediately stopped and realized what had happened and felt horrible. I, however, was scared and called the cops. They took him to jail and asked me to write a statement and I said no. I wrote no statement and said I don’t want to press charges. They asked what happens and I told them and they informed me they recorded everything I said on a recording device. We hired a lawyer 4 months ago who said he could keep this out of court and possibly get it dismissed. Throughout the 4 months the lawyer would not meet with us after we paid him. We paid $3,500 for a family violence charge that’s a not a felony. The lawyer hasn’t given us any answers on anything, promised to meet with the county attorney and hasn’t, didn’t even know there was a trial set for MONDAY. We had to call the court house. It’s one business day before trial and he cannot be reached. He left a message yesterday on our voicemail saying he thinks he pushed back the date for the second time but the court house said that is not so.

Answer

If you have a court date on Monday, show up in court on Monday. Failure to appear may cause a warrant to issue for your husband’s arrest, regardless of the problems you have with your attorney. Next, this MAY not be an actual trial date, just another court setting, so you should not panic over the entire weekend. In any event, you do not trust your lawyer. You need to have a face to face meeting with him and clear the air. After that meeting, you will either feel better and keep him as your attorney, or you can get new counsel.