[norcal_sourD]

Norther Ca;

I have heard many people in my area speak highly of Peter Tieman with regards to weed cases. I have good experience with a Brad Clark in my area too. Clark especially has ties to local community, judges ,da's, etc. Good dude as far as lawyers go and OH the lawyer jokes he can tell you haha. Hope that doesn't violate TOU but have had good results w/them..But as stated before , not cheap. 3k for Clark just to rep ya on a misd case..more if/when ya go to trial. And that's 3k with the "family discount" as I went to school with his kids. Freedom sure ain't free is it?

[Bad Habits]

Originally Posted by PizzaMan5000

pretty nice list, I just wonder if that is a generic list, or a hand picked list of winners

Good question. I know for my state that at least two of the top names that I've heard of and are frequently in the press regarding marijuana law are listed. These guys are generally specialty weed lawyers though.

On the other hand, that doesn't mean that there aren't other criminal defense lawyers (not weed-specialized) that can't do a good job.

I got in some trouble about 4 years ago and went with a highly recommended criminal defense lawyer who didn't specialize in pot. He had done drug cases before, but it wasn't his forte so to speak. Because he was well "connected" as others have mentioned, and his incredible ability at being completely up-to-date and versed in all the current law, he did a great job on my case. Basically got me completely off the hook for 3 felonies. Cost about 10 grand though.

[PizzaMan5000]

NorcalsourD- Thank you for your entries!
Badhabits-Thanks for the follow up, clarification makes this an even better thread!

This is an awesome forum, we already have some great replies and it's only been a day. I can say, if your are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Don't go to Kevin Breger.... He probably coun't take his kid home from school early lol

[PizzaMan5000]

On second thought I probably should have put a space halfway through his last name or something so if he google's himself he can't track me down and sue me for defamation of character. If a moderator readis this could they edit or delete my last post please? I'm baked, didn't think that through.

[PizzaMan5000]

I was waiting at the doctor's office yesterday and picked up a copy of Columbus CEO magazine. They had a special section recognizing the best lawyer's in the state of Ohio based on peer review, factor's included convincing speech, customer satisfaction, ethics and other's. The ethics part was kind of a negative to me, but maybe a respected lawyer is better in the eyes of a judge as opposed to a know dirt bag. But I digress. I read through 30 pages of the top lawyers and I wrote down a few based on their area of expertise. These included drugs, dui, traffic offenses, criminal defense, federal criminal defense, and white collar crime. Not all of them listed all of those, but they all at least had 2-3 of those. The names I wrote down were as follows
Janet Kravitz
William j. Owen
J. Scott Weisman
Lewis E. Williams jr
David C. Winters
Thomas D. Beal
Robert W. Blackmore
David J. Graeff

These all seemed like they could be definite winner's being that they were among the highest rated in Ohio, and they listed specialties that just made me grin from ear to ear. Reading the list of what these lawyers can do, just made me feel inspired to do bad stuff, or to do legal stuff and know I can find somebody to cover my ass.

[BOMBAYCAT]

I second the idea about getting an attorney with lots of connections. I got out of a bust one time because my attorney knew everyone. He talked to the DA, told him it was a bad bust and DA probably shouldn't pursue the case because it would make him look very foolish and dumb. Surprise surprise the case was dropped. I wish everyone has luck like that. Of course the attorney cost some bucks though.

[PizzaMan5000]

I should have just called the thread, connected lawyer name drop thread lol

[Bababooey]

It's all well and good having a defense lawyer who's familiar with the court staff, from the judge to the deputies, but people should not assume that just because their lawyer has a relationship with staff that it was always go their way.
I think the outcome has more to do with the nature of the case and the arrest than if your lawyer and the judge used to be co-workers (lots of defense lawyers and judges are former prosecutors). Who knows if they even liked each other?
MJ offenses in general, even growing/distribution, are not treated the same as 'harder' drugs or violent crimes. So if the judge or prosecutor went easy on you it may be because they dont think youre the scum of the earth who needs to have their life ruined. Cause they see much worse.
But some prosecutors and/or judges might think differently and come down harder.
Also, the skill of your lawyer is important, of course, and the willingness to do the work. There are good private defense lawyers and bad ones, and good public defenders and bad ones. And no, sadly, the amount of money you pay is not always an indicator of quality. And the bad ones who charge a lot get away with it cause there's always a sucker out there who thinks if something's too cheap it cant be any good - which is just as wrong as assuming that if somethings the most expensive it has to be the best.
You can probably take that last bit of advice and apply it to a lot of things, though.

But if you've been arrested and charged, you're already more or less screwed. It's unlikely at that point that you can completely unscrew things and make everything as it was, but you can do damage control and having a lawyer is part of that. But some of the lawyers who like to brag about how they know everyone won't do much more good for you than if you just plead guilty yourself, only difference is they'll take a good bit of your money first. It pays for their fancy suit, expensive watch and luxury car, but leaves you without a cushion if you lose your job, or have to pay court fines and fees. But those nice things make him look the part of the successful lawyer, and thus brings more business.

[tokersmoke]

A good lawyer is a connected lawyer.Decisions are made before the court date.I have a guy thats legit.If you are doing something illegal and have money its best to pre pay for legal service and have bond money together.Having bond money together and an attorney on retainer makes things a lot less stressful.

[PizzaMan5000]

Originally Posted by tokersmoke

A good lawyer is a connected lawyer.Decisions are made before the court date.I have a guy thats legit.If you are doing something illegal and have money its best to pre pay for legal service and have bond money together.Having bond money together and an attorney on retainer makes things a lot less stressful.

I'm shooting for the exact same thing, money laying aside for a rainy day. And a lawyer I have already paid.