When the Law comes a’callin
Between A Rock…And A Rock
When you need a lawyer
Two Options
Among the calls I get from those around the country about accessing addiction and/or mental disorder treatment are from criminal defense attorneys. Typically, the attorney’s client is in jail for a non-violent misdemeanor or felony prior to bonding out or right after the defendant’s first court appearance. I get the call right after the attorney has had the “two options” moment with his client. One is to take his chances of a guilty verdict which often means jail or prison, or there is one way to get the charges eventually dismissed or at least soften the outcome.
Option one: A conviction could lead to incarceration or at least probation, but either way, your criminal record will haunt you for the rest of your days. The other option: go to treatment. Does going to treatment solve all your problems? No, not by a longshot, but if the prosecutor and the judge agree to let you go to treatment, there’s likely a much better outcome including possible expunction of the charges if you stay sober, out of trouble and they never see your face again.
Not once have I experienced a judge and prosecutor NOT giving a defendant this opportunity when approached by his defense attorney. I applaud them for supporting treatment and realizing that incarceration is not THE answer to all crimes involving addiction.
Most of the time, the defendant chooses wisely.
When You Need A Real Lawyer
If criminal justice is a player in this scenario, you’ll need a criminal defense attorney. If money is an issue — it usually is — don’t ask Uncle Bob who practices real estate law to represent your loved one for free. Ask Bob to recommend a defense lawyer. And don’t be afraid of going to the Mt. Olympus of firms in your area to ask for representation even if you think there’s no way you could afford them. You never know unless you ask! Firms take on cases for all kinds of reasons. Yours may be one of them. Go for it.
Also, don’t be shy asking the attorney about a payment plan to satisfy the fee. You’d be surprised how many of them accommodate their clients that way. If they are unable to fit your resources, ask them for recommendations — they will know who is right for your situation. Plus, calling an attorney saying that someone from a big-shot law firm referred you could be advantageous for both of you.
There is also the public defender’s office. It’s natural for people to attach little to no value for a service they get for free. In my experience, if given the choice between a seasoned public defender (PD) and a young and relatively inexperienced attorney at a private law firm, I’ll take the PD any day. Being a PD means jumping into the fire immediately upon joining the team, which translates into experience — vastly more than a young associate at a private firm.
When I started my practice, one defense attorney who represented several of my clients was, at forty-one years old, running his own practice and already one of the state’s top lawyers. I asked why he had even bothered starting his career in the PD’s office when he clearly would have been a star at a white-shoe firm.
“Walter,” he said, “if I had started my career at a firm, it would have taken several years to be the lead lawyer on a murder case. When you work in the PD’s office, you start immediately. Where else can you gain such a vast amount of experience in such a short amount of time?” Plus, working daily with the key players of that county’s criminal justice system — prosecutors, judges, clerks of the court, bailiffs, secretaries in the DAs office, jailors, police officers, bondsmen — a young attorney quickly acquires knowledge and relationships that turn out to be invaluable to their clients.
What You Need To Know
If you should get a call that your loved-one has been arrested and in custody, you need to know the following:
- Confirm if this is the defendant’s first arrest.
- Have charges been filed?
- Has an arraignment date been set?
- Which judge has been appointed?
- Has bond been set?
- Could the defendant be released on OR (own recognizance), or will you need a bail bondsman?
- Should you even bail the person out? Keeping your loved one incarcerated for the short term anyway will keep her from overdosing or getting into more legal trouble. At least you’ll know where your loved one is.
When Treatment Is the Next Stage
If the infraction involves substance use and/or mental disorder, does the defendant want to go to treatment or is he in denial of having a behavioral health problem? It’s remarkable to see a defendant who is resistant to treatment all of a sudden be a convert when given the choice of going to treatment now or taking his chances with a trial, jail or prison later.
If criminal justice is not in the picture and the individual is in denial of a problem or resistant to treatment, staging an intervention is likely the next step. Depending upon the leverage over the individual — impending loss of family’s financial support, employment, friends, housing — whatever forces the individual to weigh whether continuing his or her destructive behavior or sobriety should be the next step. See “Intervention: How to get a loved-one to treatment.”
Assuming treatment is the next stage, has a licensed healthcare professional diagnosed the individual of having a substance use disorder (SUD) and/or a mental disorder? If not, it’s time to get one either by an in person visit, video conference or an over-the-phone assessment.
Then there still are the practical issues to solve. Out of the more than sixteen thousand treatment programs and facilities in our nation, how do you know which program is the right one for the individual? Which rehabs actually deliver what they promise? How do you avoid being scammed? How much can you afford to pay, even with insurance? What if you cannot pay, are there still treatment programs available to you? How long should the treatment program last? Thirty, sixty, ninety, or 120 days? Six months? One year? Should the facility be local or out of state?
These are just a few of the issues you will be confronting if you should get that 3:00 A.M. call. I know I did. These columns are designed to help guide you through the next stages of this terrifying, emotionally draining process.
Walter Wolf is the pen name of a 30-year veteran of the movie and television industry who produced studio and independent films and television throughout the United States, Australia, and South Africa. That all changed in 2010 with one 3 A.M. call that a family member was in crisis due to addiction. Today, he is an interventionist who matches adults and adolescents with the optimum treatment program and facility for their particular diagnosis, demographics, financial and personal needs. In order to demystify and explain in layman terms what treatment is and how to get it, Wolf wrote The Right Rehab which became the only step-by-step guide for vulnerable families navigating the confusing world of addiction and mental disorder treatment, health insurance and recovery.
To know more about interventions and finding the right treatment for you or a loved one, read The Right Rehab or call Walter Wolf at 1–310–210–4334.
