27 of his 50 years of his life spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

     Imagine, you’re 22 years old and you face being accused of a murder you say you didn’t do.  You have a “fair” trial, and you’re sentenced to life in prison.  Despite your steadfast proclaiming of your innocence, it takes 27 years for you to be proven Innocent-not just released, but innocent.  You’re now 50 years old with so much of your life taken away from you, how do you get your life back, and how can the “system” explain its mistake?  This is what William Dillon is experiencing now.

     August 1981, a man is beaten to death on Florida’s east coast.  A driver who picked up a hitchhiker (who was the apparent murderer) who was wearing a bloody t-shirt from the woods near where the body was found.  The bloody t-shirt was left in the truck after the hitchhiker was dropped off at a tavern.  William was in the area and became a suspect.  The pick-up driver was unable to pick-out Dillon from a lineup.  His attorney’s where never notified of this despite the clear discovery requirement to do so. 

     A jailhouse snitch testified that William admitted to the murder despite  the confession did not fit with some of the facts, and other prisoners where present who didn’t hear this confession.  Shortly after the trial, rape charges against the snitch where dropped. 

     William’s ex-firlfriend testified against him, and less than two weeks after the trial, she  recanted her testimony saying she was threatened with 25 years in prison if she didn’t testify against him.  She also slept with the lead officer in the case during the investigation.  A dog handler who has been responsible for at least 3 wrongful convictions because of his improper tracking techniques, testified that his dog alerted to a piece of paper that police had William touch.

     Yet another innocent person in which either non-disclosed or improper evidence was used to obtain a conviction.  Imagine all the things that you have done since you were 22, and William Dillon wasn’t able to experience just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

     Will our court system ever address the people who either knowing lie, present false testimony, unduly threaten people with repercussions for not saying what a prosecutor wants to hear, or go after those people who prepare “junk” theories to garner a name for themselves as an expert?  At this time probably not. 

      Just ask William his thoughts about restitution for his life being taken away.  He had possessed a Quaalude pill so he is not eligible for compensationunder the new Florida Law that allows for compensation for those who were wrongly convicted.  He is now at the mercy of the legislatur to approve a special claims bill for his restitution.  Imagine, we in Florida have so many wrongly convicted individuals that we have a law that is supposed to make compensation for these victim’s easier to receive.

35 Years in Prison for a crime he didn’t commit

     That ’s what James Bain has experienced first hand.  Mr. Bain was sentenced to the rest of his life for the conviction of raping a 9-year-old boy.  His family testified that he was home at the time of the attack on the child, but the jury found him guilty anyway.  He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.   He was going to go to college, was 18 at the time of the attack, and at age 19 was tried, convicted, and sentenced.

     One small problem – he didn’t do it. 

     Advanced DNA testing excluded Mr. Bain as the perpetrator of the attack on the child.  The order releasing Mr. Bain, and dismissing the rape charge was specific, and that is the Mr. Bain is “actually innocent”.  This means that Mr. Bain is innocent, rather than he is released on a technicality. 

     In America, how can an 18-year-old be sentenced to 35 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?  Simple, eye-witness testimony can seem compelling at the time of the trial, but according to the Innocence Project of Florida, witness misidentification is why almost 80% of the 245 wrongful convictions (DNA results established the convicted were innocent) were overturned.   The prosecutor in 2009 agreed to the new testing procedure, after requests as early as 2001 for the DNA testing were unsuccessful.

     So what does this mean for the criminal justice system today:

           An innocent 18-year-old, now is a 53-year-old who had 35 years of his life forever taken away.

           A 9-year-old victim of a crime knows that the person who attacked him was never identified nor punished.

          A jury who convicted a young man, made a mistake that cost a young man 35 years of his life and freedom.

          Eye witness identification continues to be one of the most relied upon means of identification, yet is one of the most incorrect ways to identify a perpetrator.

          Family members who testify for the accused are often portrayed as liars just because they are related to the accused.

          As a Trial Attorney, I can never have enough evidence to prove my client’s innocence.

          It is never too late, nor too early in a case to try to make a difference.

     The next time anyone hears of a tragic crime, and based upon reports in the media, don’t jump to the conclusion as to who did the crime, and what their punishment should be.  I’m sure at the time of Mr. Bain’s conviction people where saying he should be punished severely.  After all the attack on the child was clearly heinous.  Now 35 years later we know one thing for sure, we now know that his steadfast insistence that he didn’t do it is the truth.  Sadly it took 35 years for us all to know the same thing.

Why are most personal injury fee agreements, no fees unless you win?

    Often you’ll see an advertisement that says “No Recovery, No Fee”, or words to that effect.  Why will an Attorney take a case on a contingency contract?  We realize that when you are hurt in an auto accident, your vehicle is damaged, your probably missing work, or in the case of a wrongful death accident, your just not emotionally prepared to get back to work. 

     The insurance companies have lawyers and law firms ready to try to prevent you from the recovery that you feel you deserve for your injuries.  They can bill the insurance companies by the hour, on a flat fee contract. or a full-time employee on a salary.  We understand the disadvantage you are at even if you can pay for the presentation of your claim.  Now factor in the reality that most people cannot apply the  necessary financial resources to combat the insurance companies, and the only way for the injured to present their claim is to, in essence, team-up with a lawyer who strives to fight for their client.

     That being said – often times client’s will question the percentage of the claim that an attorney will charge.  Since the attorney has, in essence, become part of the team in presenting the claim of the client, the attorney wants to be compensated not just for the time, but for the risk of presenting the case.  An attorney will incur investigative fees, witness costs, expert fees, deposition costs, and trial appearance fees.  In an automobile accident case in which just 3 doctors and an expert accident Reconstructionist testifies, the costs can exceed $15,000.00.  These are costs fronted by an attorney in a personal injury case.  In order to justify such an outlay, the prospect of recovery must make it worthwhile for the risk.

     The contingency fee contract allows someone who is injured access to courts to pursue a recovery for their injuries.  It is ironic that the only groups who complain of this system are business owners and insurance companies.  Without these contracts to allow/encourage attorney’s to take on these types of claims, the injured would have little chance to pursue their claims.  Is it any wonder why insurance companies want to limit these contracts?

 

Should Thanksgiving really be just one day a year?

  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Here I sit on the patio of our home on Thanksgiving morning.  It is a cool morning in Florida, the house is ready for 20+ family and friends to arrive, my morning coffee is hot, the sound and smell of one of the turkeys frying in oil surrounds me, and  yet I wonder why should Thanksgiving be just one day of the year?  No, I am not volunteering to host this large meal everyday, but I do wonder how often do I really take the time to consider all the little things that make up my life.  Are we truly thankful for all the little things, and why does it take a National Holiday/two days off from work for us to express out thanks?

     When each member of the family wakes up, we say “Happy Thanksgiving”, and look back to the Macy’s day parade to see if we missed our favorite float.  When guests/friends arrive we exchange thanks, and then sneak a peek to see if someone scored a touchdown during one of the football games.  This doesn’t mean we don’t care or we’re not thankful, we just get so caught up in things that can distract us, sometimes we just don’t take the time to realize the many things that make our lives what they are. 

     We give thanks when we get the results of a medical test that confirms we don’t have the swine flu, but do we give thanks for the morning that we wake up and finally don’t have to blow our nose from that cold that we had for 3 weeks.  We’re thankful when we get that promotion/raise, but are we thankful everyday that we have  a job when so many millions don’t.  We’re thankful on our anniversary with our significant other, but are we thankful during the rough times of our relationship that we all go through.  We get so caught up in our lives that when something occurs that adversely affects us, it can seem like it consumes us no matter what it is.  

     We can always find something to be thankful for, no matter what we are dealing with.  So many people are dealing with debilitating diseases/illnesses, financial devastation, and emotional upheaval that may dwarf our own issues.  It is not that our issues are not important to us, but we can always find something to be thankful for, no matter what are personal issues are.

     So how about this?  Yes, be thankful today.  Tell your friends and family thank you for just being there and caring.  When you wake up tomorrow, be thankful you woke up.  When you get out of bed, be thankful you can get out of bed.  Next week, when you get to work, and your boss/co-worker/employee really yanks your chain, be thankful you have a chain to be yanked.  If we can learn to be thankful for the little things, maybe we can have Thanksgiving more than once a year.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A special comment thanking Veteran’s for their service, and the freedoms they protect.

On this special day saluting all of our country’s veterans who have served so nobly, a few thoughts. 

We often hear comments from people who mean well when they say things to support our troops.  Often, unless we have a closer connection to a military member, we don’t truly understand the sacrifice that entire families make so our country continues to enjoy our way of life. 

Speaking from experience, my father was an enlisted man in the USAF who retired as a Chief Master Sargeant after 26+ years of service.  He retired with a 100% service connected disability, and enjoyed 27 years of retirement until he passed.  My mother was a Captain in the USAF as a Nurse until she resigned her commission when they were married.  Back then an enlisted man couldn’t fraternize with an officer-let alone get married.  I grew up on Air Force Bases, never staying at any duty station for more than 2 1/2 years until we were stationed at Eglin AFB, in the panhandle of Florida.

Growing up it was the norm to repeatedly move in the middle of school years, have friends move away just as you were getting to know them, having to catch up to entirely different school systems, living in temporary quarters waiting for your on-base residence to become available, and knowing that your dad was leaving and not understanding why he couldn’t tell you when he would be back.  Despite all of that and more, I wouldn’t trade the lessons learned for anything.  You learn to adapt, you learn to adjust, you get exposed to so many different people and their ways of doing things that are so different from yours. 

You have an automatic bond with anyone in the military or those who grew up in the military.  You see the images of our fallen Soldiers, the children with blank stairs on their faces because they are too young to understand, the grief of the spouses, and the families who demonstrate such pride mixed with their loss.  You hear the phrase “Freedom isn’t Free” and you understand it’s meaning, and yet those words are so incomplete to begin to describe the daily sacrifice that is made by our military.  Every moment of their day is framed around serving our county.  Every thought they have to make in their day is impacted by the decision each man or woman made to join our volunteer forces.

How many of us take what we each have for granted – not from any neglectful thought, or intentional decision – but from things we just have never experienced.  I remember when I was in 10th grade, and I had a job bagging groceries at the local commissary (Grocery Store on the Base), and I would see a 2-striper come in with his newborn.  He couldn’t be much older than 19, he buys formula and diapers, and he has to use food stamps for the purchase.  I didn’t get it then, but as I got older I understood.  Here was someone fresh out of high school, made his commitment to this country, and his salary for protecting us isn’t above the poverty level.  How many thousands does this apply to today?

So the next time you see a man or woman in uniform, how about a polite thank you.  The next time you are in line at a store and you see a man in uniform holding his daughter, or a woman holding her son’s hand, take the time to tell that child how proud we are of their parent’s.  Our service men and women didn’t make their commitment for our gratitude, but the expression of thanks can mean so much to them.  Their children have every right to be proud.  As they grow up and really understand, their pride in the character of their parents will help shape them forever.

Happy Veteran’s Day, and perhaps we can strive to make everyday a day to thank those who serve, and those who sacrifice to allow their loved one’s to serve.

How can you represent someone accused of a crime?

That is a common question that Defense Attorney’s get asked all the time.  This question is even more in the forefront when considering the case of Roderick Clark in Circuit Court in Pinellas County Florida.  Mr. Clark is currently on trial for 9 counts including sexual battery.  He is facing charges that are punishable by life in prison.  Over the weekend, his appointed attorney’s were visiting with him in a room to allow confidential review/trial preparation, when he attacked them both.  He hit his female attorney in the face, and repeatedly struck his male attorney about the face and body.  Needless to say, his attorney’s were allowed to withdraw.

This attack is something that is rare, but makes the above question that much more intriguing to non-lawyers, as well as some lawyers who do not work in the criminal defense arena.  First to clear up some misconceptions.  Criminal Defense Attorney’s do not agree with what are client’s have done (if, they indeed have broken the law), we do not condone breaking laws, we do not try to advance lawlessness, we do not advocate taking the law into your own hands, we do not support violence against anyone, nor do we support lack of respect/violence directed to law enforcement personnel.  We do, however, strongly believe the power of the government must always be kept in check, the authority the police use should be reviewed in the light of day, the misconduct/misuse of the court system should never be ignored, and if a violent criminal’s rights can’t be protected, how can we ensure that an innocent person’s rights are not protected.  The Bill of Rights wasn’t just a doodle on parchment paper, but a conscious  determination  to protect the people of this country from the oppression of England.  Each concept that embodies the Bill of Rights has a distinct purpose, and reason for its insertion in our laws.

Criminal Defense Attorney’s see how the vast resources of their local prosecutor’s office combined with the resources of the police departments can lead to unfair convictions.  Many times we know that our client’s have made mistakes, broken laws, and ultimately will have to face the punishment.  If we have done our job, our client’s have been treated as the law proscribed, the process has been open, nad the rights of our client’s have been protected.  We understand that our client’s don’t have a right to win their trial, and if we do win our trial – we like to think that is was “good lawyering” – it is often because the carelessness/attitude/refusal to keep investigator’s minds open that results in a win.  After every trial, I think back to what I could have done different for a better result.  How many prosecutors or police officer’s truly do this if they lose, or do they just blame it on a liberal judge or jury.

This career is not for the meek.  I say this not for a pat on my back or any request for honor, but a comment on the questions we always get at parties, when we meet people, or when there is a conflict even with our client’s.  The satisfaction comes when you represent a 19-year-old charged with violent crimes, and you know he wasn’t there, you can proved he didn’t do it, and then you win the trial using experiences in court from previous client’s.  After the client is exonerated, his parents say thank you, the feeling you now have is why you do what you do.

Hello, this is Walter Grantham, and welcome to the new blog. I am a trial lawyer in Clearwater, everyone calls me J.R., including Judges, so please do so as well. I have been a lawyer since graduation day in May 1987. My practice specializes in automobile accidents and criminal defense. I hope that you find this blog has some usefull information, and please ask questions.