Remember to help your attorney.
The more you do for your attorney, the better armed your attorney will be,
and the easier it will be to win. When parents take an active role in
their own defense their chances of winning are greatly increased. Don't
just pay the attorney and then expect the attorney to do the rest. Your
attorney can not paddle your life boat for you unless you inflate it first.
Help your attorney defend you. Do your own research, ask questions, and
keep your attorney informed. Keep a log of everything concerning your
case (phone calls, research, etc.). Find cases similar to your own that
have been won, make copies of your findings, and give a copy to your
attorney. Make it easier for your attorney to defend you by preparing
your attorney well.
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Get fresh blood.
Most attorneys work within their own county. Keep in mind that your
attorney must face the same attorneys and judges day after day. They all
know what to expect from each other and what kind of a response to expect
from the court for various situations. Judges sometimes prevent attorneys
from providing their defendants with the full benefit of their strategies
and expertise. So get some fresh blood in the court room. Try to hire an
additional attorney that is NOT from your county. If possible, hire an
attorney from the capital city. Why?
1) The judge has no idea how your new attorney operates, and has no idea
where they are from. The judge is going to wonder why you didn't
choose someone local and will usually put their "best face" forward.
(The judge may think he/she is "being watched" or "evaluated",
especially if the judge discovers that your attorney is from the
capital city!)
2) The judge will usually allow far more latitude in the trial to your
new attorney, which also gives your other attorney more leeway. (This
is definately to your advantage.)
3) Opposing counsel won't know what to expect either and it can shake
them up enough so they will make mistakes that make CPS look bad.
(It's happened before!)
4) The childs attorney doesn't know which way to go, and more than likely
will "straddle the fence" through the entire trial or switch sides in
support of the defense. After all, the childs attorney wants to be on
the WINNING side. It looks better that way!
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Who's saying what?
If you are involved with CPS, you can find out what they are writing down
about you. You have the right to go to the social services department and
demand to look at your case file. You have the legal right to see the
entire file. Chances are social services will tell you to get your
attorney to request the information. (It's not entirely legal for them to
do that, but what recourse do you have?) If that happens, ask your
attorney to request a copy of ALL case notes and other documentation that
CPS has against you. Ask your attorney to provide you with a copy so that
you can list all inconsistancies in their documentation. (By law, they are
required to list every contact they have had with you - but they seldom
document it unless they can use it against you.) This step can be a BIG
help to your defense.
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* Origin: Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (1:2629/124)
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