Legal Question in Criminal Law in Oklahoma

Re: Attorney Misrepresentation

It is impossible to answer your question. Your lawyer "wanted to wait to see what the DA has" which means that the lawyer was investigating the case to see if you have a defense. It is not surprising that the defense attorney did not know what evidence the State had until now. It sounds like defense counsel was allowed to informally review the evidence against you, and felt that evidence was strong.

It is common for the State to make some sort of a plea offer near the preliminary hearing, because if the offer it accepted it will allow the State to avoid doing some work. The real question is, what have you and your attorney been talking about for the last year? The tone of your question suggests that you are mad at the attorney because he is now advising you to accept a plea, but you do not say whether you know what evidence the State has against you. You also do not say whether or not the attorney has explained why he is advising you to take the Alford plea. I recognize that $10,000.00 is a lot of money, but you should also consider the reasons why you chose this attorney in the first place. At some point you had enough confidence in this lawyer's experience and judgment to give him a lot of money ($10,000.00). Now it appears that you have lost that confidence. Why? Is it because the lawyer is not telling you what you want to hear? Don't you want your lawyer to be as straight with you as you have been with him? And, I am assuming that you have truthfully told your lawyer everything you know about the facts of your case, so that the lawyer can make an honest evaluation of the risks associated with a trial versus the risks associated with a plea. To answer your specific questions: (1) No honest lawyer will tell you how to resolve a felony case based on a one-paragraph question, without any opportunity to review the facts and evidence. Therefore, I have no idea whether you should take the Alford plea or not take the Alford plea; (2) It does not appear to me, based on your question, that the lawyer has misrepresented himself to you. As I stated above, the fact that the plea offer is coming at or near the time of the preliminary hearing is not surprising. (3) I have seen nothing in your question to suggest to me that your lawyer is "misrepresenting" you. What is very troubling, however, is that you have so little faith in the judgment of your lawyer that you are willing to take advice from an online service over the advice of an attorney that you selected and with whom you once had sufficient confidence to pay him a lot of money. The real issue that you should resolve is your relationship with your attorney. Once that level of trust is restored, then you will be able to make an informed an intelligent decision about whether to take the Alford plea. Best of luck in your case.