Thumping My Chest!!!

[dtheo]

what are the cliffs notes? nevermind, saw them. Nice work.

 

[esqeddy]

Thanks guys! Oh yes, the guy filed suit within a month of the incident. The civil suit is now pending. Now let me tell you what this had done to this guys life:

1) He got fired from his job because he had a pending felony charge. He finally found another job in Tennessee, which is where he had to move himself and his entire family.

2) He lost close to $100K in wages before he found another job.

3) Fortunately, he had insurance which is paying a lawyer to defend him on the civil suit. If he had of been convicted the insurance coverage would have gone away and he would have had to pay a lawyer to defend him. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

4) He has had to pay me to defend him. I charge a lot for my time. I spent a lot of time on this case. I left nothing on the table. I held nothing back. I gave it my all. Fortunately, he was able to afford my services.

5) The stress of facing prison has put him, his wife, and his three great kids through 2 years of living hell. I bet he aged 10 years in the last 2.

6) The land and house he has here in Ga. are now on the market. This is NOT a good time to try and sell a house. Of course, until he does, he has to keep making payments on it.

7) He doesn't even dare go to or even near his property without people with him for fear this guy will make up some lie on him. For the trial, he came down and stayed in a hotel in a different town 30 miles away just to avoid any possibility of running into this guy.

8) He has had me file a counter claim against the neighbor in the civil suit. However, even if we win, there is no guarantee that he could ever collect on the judgment. If the guy is in hock, there is a possibility that he could bankrupt out of it. It gets technical, but suffice it to say, there is a good chance that my client will never recover all of his financial losses that all of this has done.


FACT: When you are charged with a crime, you are in a no win situation. Even if you win the case, you are still out your time, money, and stress.

 

[carrrnuttt]

I'd like some input from the resident prosecutors we have here.

Is that REALLY all it takes to ruin someone's life like that? Make up a lie and make them defend themselves against the state? Doesn't the state pay enough smart investigators and prosecutors to have avoided not just making this man suffer needlessly, but the state spending I'm sure is a ton of money on prosecuting this.

 

[esqeddy]

As a fellow attorney I commend you and your loyalty and drive to represent your client and give him the best defense he could have.

and for everyone else haters gonna hate

Everyone bitches at lawyers until they need one, otherwise feel free to represent yourselves pro se

And lastly for those saying he shouldn't post this it is already public information, State of Georgia VS. ...would be your first indication of that. You could have gone to court had you wished to watch.

Thank you. I have both a curse and a blessing in that I can't help but get emotionally invested in these cases. Its a blessing because it makes me strive harder to give it my all. It is a curse because when I lose (Which, knock on wood, isn't often ), I take it personally and it can be emotionally devastating.

John,
I appreciated your help when I needed it! Everyone hates a lawyer till they need one. I am glad you had a positive outcome. Self defense is a good reason to shoot someone in my eyes. Unarmed does not mean un-dangerous, LOL!

Dale, it was an honor to be able to assist you. I hope all is still good with you old friend!

Well if he feared for his life then good case.

Congrats.

One of the things that was hard about this case was that my guy was very honest and said that it didn't happen out of some conscious thought. It happened so fast as an instinctual reaction that he really just didn't have time to think about it. By the time he realized he was being charged the guy was just feet away. The reason the guy got shot in the legs was that the gun didn't come all the way up before it discharged. He said that the gun either came into contact with his leg, or the guys hand was on it. He didn't know which.

Sounds like the guy got what he deserved although its a shame it didn't hit his femoral artery. Hopefully your client dodges any civil suits as well!

The bullet just missed the guys junk. I serious don't know how it didn't hit his stuff.

Well if that's how it went down then most definitely congrats on wining the case. I retract my previous statement

Thank you sir.

Did it feel as good as 204 mph in a Terminator? Or was it even better?:beer::rockon:

Congratulations!:beer:

206 mph :burnout: HAHAHA

And setting land speed records in the cobra was a great feeling.

Saving this man from losing his career, going to prison, and losing everything he owned....

WAY WAY BETTER!!!

I haven't responded to each post individually, but I have read them all and thank you each for posting. I also thank you for letting me share with you what I feel is a great professional accomplishment for myself, and a great triumph for my client. I usually don't post about my court victories and cases, but I am so overwhelmingly happy about this one I just couldn't contain myself.

 

[Outlaw99]

 

[tistan]

FACT: When you are charged with a crime, you are in a no win situation. Even if you win the case, you are still out your time, money, and stress.

This is very true, and a reason we need a looser pays system. Was the neighbor that was shot charged with anything like trespass or assault?

 

[esqeddy]

I'd like some input from the resident prosecutors we have here.

Is that REALLY all it takes to ruin someone's life like that? Make up a lie and make them defend themselves against the state? Doesn't the state pay enough smart investigators and prosecutors to have avoided not just making this man suffer needlessly, but the state spending I'm sure is a ton of money on prosecuting this.

Let me give you an example. In May of 2010. Almost one year ago to the day, I defended a lady in the following case:

A young couple lived in a trailer park across from a cemetary. The guy was crossing the road and night and stealing the brass urns from the graves. Then the girl was taking them to sell as scrap metal. And yes, they would then promptly go buy drugs with the money.

The guy had been in trouble before for stealing and selling metal and was banned from the scrap yard. My client was a middle aged lady who worked at the cemetary for years and who lived in a trailer at the cemetary with her boyfriend who also worked there. When the crack head couple finally got caught they said my client had given them the urns for $40 she owed them for pot. They had previously had a run in with my client who has accused them of stealing a car stereo though she couldn't prove it, so they knew her and she knew them. A not so very careful reading of their statements revealed that their stories about my client changed dramaticaly several times and didn't even make sense.

Yep! You guessed it! My client got charged anyway! She lost her job, even though her employer didn't believe the charges. Fortunately, he let her continue to stay in the trailer the 2 or 3 years the charges were pending. Of course, she had no income, no one would hire her because of the theft charges, she had to pay a bail bondsman to get her out, and had to pay me to defend her. The ADA wouldn't listen and we went to trial. NOT GUILTY! She got her job back but is still making payments on her legal bill.

Oh... lets not even talk about the guy I'm now defending on a rape charge even though the "victim" (his ex-wife) discussed making the allegations with people before the incident allegedly even happened!!!

 

[terrible one]

99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name

 

[esqeddy]

This is very true, and a reason we need a looser pays system. Was the neighbor that was shot charged with anything like trespass or assault?

No.

 

[skyhighsd]

Congrats on your victory!

 

[hoamskilet]

99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name

:lol:

 

[WireEater]

Congratulations on winning your first case.

 

[ssssnake]

My client, an engineer at a nuclear plant, buys some 60+ acres of land and has a house built in the country for him and his family to live in. The land was part of a tract and the remaining 20+ acres was bought by the neighbor who got shot. The land line lay on a little trail/road.

My client allowed a couple of guys to deer hunt on his land. The neighbor didn't like it.

60 acres is a lot of land - so is 20 acres. This guy is a real jerk. Where were the guys hunting? I wonder if the dude was growing pot or something and didn't want anyone near his property. Anyways, congrats John! It's a good feeling when someone gets justice - even though they lost a lot to get there.

 

[NO-BlkLightning2K]

Thank you guys. Yes, this is public information. It was a public trial.

OK... some of the facts...

My client, an engineer at a nuclear plant, buys some 60+ acres of land and has a house built in the country for him and his family to live in. The land was part of a tract and the remaining 20+ acres was bought by the neighbor who got shot. The land line lay on a little trail/road.

My client allowed a couple of guys to deer hunt on his land. The neighbor didn't like it. He was 6'3" 270 lbs. He tried to bully the hunters. Got in their faces, acted physically threatening, and told them they were NOT going to hunt on my clients land. He didn't care if they had permission or not, and that he would do whatever he had to do to make sure they didn't hunt there.

The neighbor went to my clients house but my client wasn't home. He tried to bully the wife and told her if she didn't stop the hunters, she'd be sorry. On a later date, he came back, got in my client's face, acted physically agressive and also demanded he stop the hunters. My client refused and he got in my clients face repeatedly saying "You want to hit me don't you?! DO IT!!!!" My client called 911, got a police report, went to see the judge and sent a certified letter warning neighbor not to come back on his land, to leave him and his family alone, and warned he would use whatever force necessary to defend himself.

A month later my client is at the property line with his family. They are locating the property markers to identify the line location so a fence can be later erected. Along come the neighbor with his family. My client repeatedly asks them to leave. Neighbor refuses. Client has a 9mm holstered on his hip. Client has also had 2 prior back surgeries and really needs a 3rd but his back has so much scar tissue, the Dr.s don't want to risk it. He is in no condition to fight or repel an attack. Doing so could result in permanent paralysis.

The neighbors wife starts cussing my client in front of the kids and everyone. My client says one bad word, calling her a bitch. The neighbor uses that as his excuse to attack. He charges my client, who reacts by pulling the gun and as he's being shoved it dischages once striking the neighbor in both legs. Both men are surprised. My client testifies that he didn't even really mean to fire the gun. The neighbor stops, turns around and walks away to a fence post where he stands and he calls 911. While on the phone, he can be heard continuing to verbally taunt my guy.

Neighbor and his family deny he charged/attacked my client and claim my guy just pulled the gun out and shot him for no reason.

It was obvious that the neighbors wife and kids testimony was coached and rehearsed. Plus it didn't even make sense. Who gets shot for no reason and then isn't worried for the safety of his kids and wife? Or that the guy might shoot him again.

Of course, this is the "In a nut shell" version, typed while hung over! There are many other little facts that I used to discredit the neighbor's story.

so your client started the fight and doesn't know how to properly use his firearm. whatever. glad you got him off. big pay day. blah, blah, blah. neighbor sounds like a bitch hog anyway, so it's probably best he took one to the legs.

 

[DaleM]

Dale, it was an honor to be able to assist you. I hope all is still good with you old friend!

I am glad you did not charge me for the advice! I owe you some Johnny Walker Blue Label or drink of choice (no $10,000 French crap though!) when I get back to the US. You saved me a lot of money and headaches.

My back has relegated me into a cushy job at the US Embassy in Oman. Not bad but I love the US more and more each day I am away.

If you and the kids get bored and need a vacation I have a 6 room 7 bath place that you and every good taxpayer are paying for. Come on over. Your rent has already been paid at my house!

Congrats again.

 

[firebird1999us]

This is why I make it a point not to know any of my neighbors:shrug:

He charges my client, who reacts by pulling the gun and as he's being shoved it dischages once striking the neighbor in both legs. Both men are surprised. My client testifies that he didn't even really mean to fire the gun.

Maybe I was raised differently - but why would you pull a gun if you don't mean to use it. Does he watch a lot of rap videosoke:

 

[FordSVTFan]

Ever hear of SELF DEFENSE?! Why would you assume that someone got off for something they should have been convicted of?

What EVER happened to the AMERICAN principle of INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY?!

Congrats. Remember it is always easier to get one juror to cause an acquittal than to get all twelve to agree to convict.

To those of you giving Eddy crap, let me tell you he has graciously helped numerous members of this site with cases and has prevailed. So, think before you post.

 

[FordSVTFan]

so your client started the fight and doesn't know how to properly use his firearm. whatever. glad you got him off. big pay day. blah, blah, blah. neighbor sounds like a bitch hog anyway, so it's probably best he took one to the legs.

Where do you get that his client started anything? The other guy was a constant aggressor.

 

[R-code17815]

Yes. I've busted my butt on this case for two years. Everyone said my client was going to prison. He shot his neighbor in the leg. The neighbor was unarmed.

Too busy drinking beer and feeling good and THUMPING MY CHEST to go into all the facts.

But Justice was served! Trust me when I say that the verdict was correct!

My kinda lawyer, I'll remember you if I get in trouble!!!!

 

[VirtualSVT]

So can you practice in FL or should I drive 4 hours north to commit all my crimes? lol