I am seeking advice regarding representing myself, or rather my husband, in court. My husband has been charged with domestic abuse, myself being the victim. Neither of us have any kind of legal background, and are hoping someone might offer their advice. We live in Minneapolis, and if anyone would like to contact us directly you can do so at easonhaake@gmail.com.
So the situation is:
My husband and I went out with friends and had a few drinks, came home, laid down on the couch together, and fell asleep watching a movie. At some point in the night I woke from a dream and said my husbands name aloud. He awoke, visibly angry and glossy eyed, obviously not fully conscious. Out of nowhere he began to kick and hit me, and I defended myself until he eventually stopped. I sustained bruises to my butt and legs.
My husband, still obviously not fully awake, stood up sat down in a chair in the living room. Frightened that he might start attacking me again I called his parents and a few of our mutual friends, who suggested I contact the police with intention that they might mediate or hang around until my husband was fully awake. The police arrived, I met them outside and informed them of the situation and that my husband was obviously not concsious. They entered the apartment, immediately arrested my husband and brought him to jail. It was 6AM Saturday morning and he was not to be released until the following Monday.
Bail was set at $2,400, so we contacted a local bail bondsman, and were able to release him after 8 hours for $400. More over, my husband and I were no longer legally able to communicate in any fashion because of a no contact order. We had an arrainment set for the following Thursday where, based on what the prosecution determined from the police report and the fact that the accused had no prior record of any sort, released the no contact order and the fine of $2,400. We thought the worst was over.
We now had another court date, a pre-trial, where we had the impression that we were in need of representation. We did not qualify for any kind of public defender because of our income. We met a private attorney before the pre-trial, which she was able to get a continuance for, pushing the date back another 2 weeks so that she would have a chance to represent us. She went over our options, which seemed completely over either of heads. At the end, she explained the amount she would charge if she were to represent us, which was also completely over our heads.
So we spoke to another lawyer, younger, and listed on craigslist. He seemed almost, if not just as robotic and cynical as the previous. In contrast to the previous his fees were more reasonable, but still not something we are able to afford. On top of that, both of these lawyers explained that the best possible situation would be some sort of plea bargain with the court, which would involve Disorderly Conduct being stamped onto my husband's record, and another fine of no more than $1,000.
We both began to think about how badly this had gone. When I called the police, I had wanted help, mediation, someone to be there in case something worse happened. Not for someone to simply arrest him. On top of that, we're faced with either (a) breaking the bank and having someone who's known us all of 15 minutes represent us in court, or (b) representing ourselves, with no kind of legal background. We have decided to go with B.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
My husband and I have been married for 4 years and have been together almost 10. As I mentioned my husband has no previous legal record, and no history what so ever of treating me with anything but love and respect. However, a similar incident did occur once about 6 months previous. Very similar circumstances, out with friends for a fun night, came home and fell asleep on the couch for a few hours. I woke him in the middle of the night, and he stood up glaze eyed and angry looking and began to hit me and kick me, in fact, after it was all over, he stood up and sat down at the same chair I mentioned previously. However, this time it was not nearly as long lasting or intense as the more recent, it was still frightening, and it took me all morning to convince him that he'd even done it. Since this more recent episode, my husband and I have decided to seek medical advice to find the cause of this.
Please, if anyone has any legal advice on how one might represent oneself in a situation like this, let us know. Our court date is this Thursday, May 21st. Thank you!
So the situation is:
My husband and I went out with friends and had a few drinks, came home, laid down on the couch together, and fell asleep watching a movie. At some point in the night I woke from a dream and said my husbands name aloud. He awoke, visibly angry and glossy eyed, obviously not fully conscious. Out of nowhere he began to kick and hit me, and I defended myself until he eventually stopped. I sustained bruises to my butt and legs.
My husband, still obviously not fully awake, stood up sat down in a chair in the living room. Frightened that he might start attacking me again I called his parents and a few of our mutual friends, who suggested I contact the police with intention that they might mediate or hang around until my husband was fully awake. The police arrived, I met them outside and informed them of the situation and that my husband was obviously not concsious. They entered the apartment, immediately arrested my husband and brought him to jail. It was 6AM Saturday morning and he was not to be released until the following Monday.
Bail was set at $2,400, so we contacted a local bail bondsman, and were able to release him after 8 hours for $400. More over, my husband and I were no longer legally able to communicate in any fashion because of a no contact order. We had an arrainment set for the following Thursday where, based on what the prosecution determined from the police report and the fact that the accused had no prior record of any sort, released the no contact order and the fine of $2,400. We thought the worst was over.
We now had another court date, a pre-trial, where we had the impression that we were in need of representation. We did not qualify for any kind of public defender because of our income. We met a private attorney before the pre-trial, which she was able to get a continuance for, pushing the date back another 2 weeks so that she would have a chance to represent us. She went over our options, which seemed completely over either of heads. At the end, she explained the amount she would charge if she were to represent us, which was also completely over our heads.
So we spoke to another lawyer, younger, and listed on craigslist. He seemed almost, if not just as robotic and cynical as the previous. In contrast to the previous his fees were more reasonable, but still not something we are able to afford. On top of that, both of these lawyers explained that the best possible situation would be some sort of plea bargain with the court, which would involve Disorderly Conduct being stamped onto my husband's record, and another fine of no more than $1,000.
We both began to think about how badly this had gone. When I called the police, I had wanted help, mediation, someone to be there in case something worse happened. Not for someone to simply arrest him. On top of that, we're faced with either (a) breaking the bank and having someone who's known us all of 15 minutes represent us in court, or (b) representing ourselves, with no kind of legal background. We have decided to go with B.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
My husband and I have been married for 4 years and have been together almost 10. As I mentioned my husband has no previous legal record, and no history what so ever of treating me with anything but love and respect. However, a similar incident did occur once about 6 months previous. Very similar circumstances, out with friends for a fun night, came home and fell asleep on the couch for a few hours. I woke him in the middle of the night, and he stood up glaze eyed and angry looking and began to hit me and kick me, in fact, after it was all over, he stood up and sat down at the same chair I mentioned previously. However, this time it was not nearly as long lasting or intense as the more recent, it was still frightening, and it took me all morning to convince him that he'd even done it. Since this more recent episode, my husband and I have decided to seek medical advice to find the cause of this.
Please, if anyone has any legal advice on how one might represent oneself in a situation like this, let us know. Our court date is this Thursday, May 21st. Thank you!
