I wish I had hired Michelle sooner
Unfortunately Michelle was not the first lawyer that I hired after I was charged with misdemeanor
assault. I was not happy with my first lawyer, he would not do things that I thought he should do,
and he told me I don’t stand a chance of being found not guilty and should be prepared to go to
jail. The day I decided to fire him, he saved me the trouble and quit. Then I found Michelle. In
the first 24 hours, Michelle did more for my case than my former lawyer did in two months.
This was not a simple case and Michelle worked hard for me. She did not doubt me and
although she would not sugar coat, she also did not give me cause for despair.
The State had five witnesses and we had none. Two of the State’s witnesses said they were
there at the time of the alleged assault, but I told Michelle that they were not there. Michelle
believed me and looked at the witness statements from my perspective. She found holes in the
witness statements, especially that of the only witness who said they saw the alleged assault.
All of the State’s witnesses insisted there was nobody else there, but I told Michelle that there
were two other witnesses present; I did not know their names, they were relatives of the alleged
victim. Again Michelle believed me and kept after the prosecutor for months until the prosecutor
finally came forward with the names of the two other witnesses. Michelle interviewed them and
they both said I did nothing. This was a major breakthrough in my case. I should note that my
former attorney did nothing to locate these witnesses other than a single phone call to the
prosecutor then told me to hire a private investigator.
It was more than a year after the alleged assault before we went to trial. On the day of the trial,
one of the prosecution’s witnesses did not show up, the only one who said she saw the alleged
assault. We needed her testimony and when the prosecutor wanted to start the trial without her,
Michelle stuck up for my rights and convinced the judge to continue the trial. Shortly afterward,
the prosecution decided not to pursue the case and the charges against me were dismissed. I
firmly believe that the way Michelle handled my case, especially her communication with the
prosecutor, convinced them that they did not have a case against me.
