LOW INCOME
Q: I have a friend that needs advice. He was illegally charged with crimes he was not guilty of. At arraignment he pleaded not guilty and asked the court to appoint a lawyer because he could not afford on. The court never asked my friend for proof of the fact that he had no money to hire a lawyer and was denied counsel. He further filed countless motions with supporting IRS papers, From the IRS, and was still denied. He went on trial Pro Se, still asking the court to appoint a lawyer was denied and convicted. He appealed the case and has made several motions to the appeals court for counsel and has been denied. He asked for transcripts from the trial court to be made and paid by the state due to his inability to pay for same. This motion was granted by the trial court, but the appeals court denied his right to transcripts leaving him without evidence needed to support his claims. My friend was also sentenced to 30 days in jail and served 8 days before being released. He never gave up his right to counsel in open court and the ules of criminal procedure say absent that he could no be sentenced to time in jail. What can he do now?
A: -I was informed that my friend had another charge which was; a clip that was construed as paraphernalia. Which the lab reportwill show had no signs of being used for anything other then an eletrical clip. There was a box of them in the car as the driver did electrical work. Had he only been charged with possession he would not have been entitled to a lawyer as there is no jail time involved. In Ohio, I am told, if there is a chance of jail time and a person does not have money to get a lawyer one would be given upon examination on the claim of indigency. If the person didn't want a lawyer and wanted to go Pro Se he would first have to state it on the court record. Without that being done the defendant could never be given jail time and only fined. So says the criminal rules of procedure -Your recitation of the law is correct in that if no jail time is involved, the Constitution does not mandate the appointment of an attorney. Someone has been doing his research and doing a good job. If he received jail time, somebody screwed up really badly. Does Ohio have any ACLU chapters? This should be right up their alley. If not, check with the local Bar association and see if they have any pro bono attorneys. If all else fails, go into federal court after your state remedies are all denied. Try to get an attorney if at all possible. I would think that some attorney would be interested because this is the kind of case that gets headlines and gets your name on a published opinion. Too bad you aren't in Texas, I would snap this up in a minute. -Mmm.... might be Too Late to Commence a Federal 1983 Action for the Initial Event... Passenger/Terry Stop/Beyond Scope/4th Amendment... In Colorado... The Local Rules of the10th District set the Statute Of Limitations as the Same Amount of Time as if the Action had been