Why some lawyers don’t take RSO cases.
Wonder why so many lawyers refuse to touch any cases involving RSOs? Here’s one reason why?
Attorney, Patricia Sigman is a candidate running for Florida Senate, District 9. She is the target of a smear campaign by her opponent, which accuses her of representing a former Osceola County deputy that was charged with a sexual offense. A group by the name of “Floridians for Equality and Justice” is mailing out fliers saying she was “defending a sexual predator”.
Shame on “Floridians for Equality and Justice”, You are nothing about equality and justice or you would be aware of the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of the right to counsel. Also, shame on Patricia Sigman, for reacting as if the suggestion of her merely representing this individual in the context of a legal defense as a practicing attorney would be so offensive! Her response to Orlando’s WESH News, that she represented him years before in an employment matter, but God forbid no, not when he was accused of a sex offense, seems a bit haughty,
Some attorneys are so worried about the stigma of representing a registrant (even in post conviction, family law, or matters completely unrelated to the offense) that they think they will become infected with some virus that will destroy their business and friendships if they take the case.
Look, nobody has to take on any cases they don’t want to or represent a client they personally find repugnant, but what’s absolutely disgusting is when lawyers are shamed by others for doing their jobs and upholding a constitutional right they swore to uphold.
The only way we’ll get real change is by changing the culture and moving from fear-based moral panics to fact based humanity. Encourage people to listen to Amber’s and my new podcast at amplifiedvoices.show and on Spotify and Apple Podcast as Amplified Voices. Also, get people to sign the registry abolition pledge http://bit.ly/EndPledge
Also, when an attorney takes a case for a person accused of a sex crime, the person is still innocent (Until either a guilty plea or a finding of guilt by the court).
So that attorney is not representing an RSO; but rather, that attorney is representing a person who has been accused (and could very well be found innocent of the charges).
Excellent point!!! Thanks for saying it, JJJJ.
Not to mention that most convictions are the result of accepting a plea vs being found guilty at trial.
Many people take the plea, 95% in fact, for a multitude of reasons.
The fact that politics plays such a key role in our “justice” system is … repugnant to say the least.
JJJJ,
Agree in principle. But regarding sex crimes nowadays, an accusation is equivalent to a conviction as far as the public is concerned. Even proven false victims are revered and the accused vilified.
I can relate to this personally
I have been trying to find an attorney for over a year to take my case back to court because my conviction was completely falsely fabricated. I leave messages with them , they refuse to return my calls after I tell them what I want to do. They won’t even take the time to let me show them the evidence I have and explain all the details. I have even e-mailed NARSOL asking them to provide me with the name of an attorney in this area that I could discuss the matter with. That has experience in dealing with these kinds of cases. No response.
If anyone knows of a knowledgeable attorney in the Kansas City area Kansas side I would appreciate the contact information. That is why it’s so easy to be convicted in the first place because no attorney unless there desperate for a job will touch being the defending attorney. All you can get is the bottom of the barrel. They generally have no experience or knowledge of defending these cases nor do the want to stick there necks out for fear of being ostracized by the prosecution or the public.
Most private criminal defense lawyers have seemed more than happy to take my $ to represent me. And I’ve known some people who felt that the Federal Defenders Office really went to bat for them.
Have others had great difficulty getting representation?
I’ve had terrible experiences with the Orlando area federal defenders. They are very weak in trial practice. Maybe some are good elsewhere but the ones in Orlando don’t seem to fight very hard. My newly retained lawyer found all sorts of errors in my case that the federal defenders overlooked. Pay to Play.
You would be better off donating to the organizations that work on cases that benefit everyone at once (like FAC or ACSOL). You can spend $100 on yourself and get no guarantees or you can spend $100 that can also get no guarantees. The difference is that you’ll be funding a much more advanced effort that has been many years in the making with establish connections and resources instead of trusting your lawyer who may know nothing about sex offender issues and case law.
Public defenders in general are useless at best. Getting them to even call you back is worse than pulling teeth, you won’t hear from them until a day or two before your plea hearing, and they ALWAYS recommend taking it. There’s a reason most private firms never hire anyone that’s spent a significant time as a PD; they don’t litigate. They’re far more adversarial toward their clients than the DAs office and if any effort is spent on anyone’s defense, it’s only to deny the best appeals.
Retained attorneys will gladly take anyone’s money, but the last thing in the world they want is to be known as “the guy who got that child molester/rapist off”. I’ve seen that more times than I can count in prison.
Yes, there are some good attorneys out there, but they are VERY few and far between.
Most attorneys are out for nothing but MONEY! They could care less about justice. Most of the attorneys hired by people to represent them are incompetent and worthless anyway. Good luck with justice! Justice stands for JUST US!
there are some good ones. Some very, very good ones.
It would be nice if the Florida Action Committee could put those attorneys in print.
FAC put those attorneys in print on the FAC Attorney Referral webpage. Have you checked it out?
there is that one Attorney Ron K. He speaks on topic of RSO and in on the phone calls when FAC does there meeting. He is the best so far I would say he is very decent attorney, I had emailed him and we exchange emails… If I had to recommend a lawyer he be my first pick after all he did get a few people off the blacklist
Ron Kleiner
He appears to be A COWARD….watch your discourse with this ‘person’
You’re calling an FAC-referred attorney a coward and questioning his humanity, with no apparent basis whatsoever.
I have heard nothing but good things from people who have dealt with Ron Kleiner. Maybe you’re just different.
To: For the Record, I hope your not referring to Ron K. Because if you are, you don’t know what your talking about. Before you go and knock a decent and good Attorney you should have the research and facts to back that statement up. Your falling on slanderous, because not only have I dealt with him, but know for a fact that this Attorney is not a Coward. So, before you but these ridiculousness comments on a positive forum, that’s trying to truly help individuals, such as yourself, be careful to have the facts in hand. It’s very disappointing, when I know for a fact that this Attorney has spent countless hours helping individuals in the very forum that your in now. Again, be careful!
WTF? How you going to say he is a “Coward” He got more Ballz than other attorneys out there At least, He stands up and fights in the Court Room He Argued “you can’t move the goal post” That shows me He is smart and witty on his feet. and what proof you offer about is actions?
For the record go back to your rock where you slid out from…
“ForTheRecord” – Just FYI we can see the IP Address from which you post your comments.
All, this guy is a troll who posts BS on our site all the time. Unfortunately we don’t catch it sometimes because he uses different names and unless the message is blatantly threatening or something, the moderator won’t know the context of the message. We get a lot of vigilantes on here.
We’ll see if we can block his IP, notify his ISP or just pay more attention to who is posting.
Let me give you a big heads up on Attorney Ron K. Not only is he a decent and good Attorney, but the only honest one I have ran across. If you want an honest Attorney who truly cares about his clients this would be the Attorney. Further, his knowledge on the subject is unsurpassed.
Like it or not, this is still The United States of America. EVERYONE has the SAME RIGHTS. Whether it’s the president or a death row inmate. Period. Full stop.
Please God, let there be someone who will speak up and work against the injustice of Grouping All as sex offenders when there’s a million degrees of various actions that Never even touched another person, yet are labeled for life!
If there is any doubt about the registry being all about politics read The Horn News August 7 . What a NJ Republican has to say about a Democratic that voted to get rid of the registry.
Ms.Nancy L.Patterson..I am totally in agreement with you..and it’s ashame how all of us are put in one group!! What we need to do is start suing the lawyers that refuses to take on cases like ours!!
Nancy,
While your point that there’s a range that can get one classified as “sex offender,” is valid, I’d argue for removing the label and shaming mechanisms rather than improving and perfecting the classification system. I’ve met people who have committed horrible crimes who are currently the least likely of anyone to reoffend. Nobody is the worst thing they’ve ever done. We need to toss out the broken system that hurts registrants, hurts families, hurts communities, and sometimes creates new victims while doing nothing to repair damage done and leaving survivors of sexual assault broken.
Yeah that’s a fact. Even judges are more worried about tomorrow than the constitution. My attorney basically told me on a registration violation 22 years after original sentence he didn’t wanta file for a lot of the stuff we know to be winners in other districts he was scared of the judge and his friends. He put it like the judge would be mad and give me more time for raising the issue than just accepting it. He also said he won a dui case based on the tester having a flaw that the deputy couldn’t explain and he took shit about it from everyone at the court saying it was a low blow and refusing to have lunch with him. A lot of attorneys aren’t gonna tell you shit about what’s an illegal sentence so that’s why it’s important if your an SO you study yourself. It’s legal to give you an illegal sentence but you can go back anytime and get relief. Really there should be study groups once a month like when I was in prison we could bounce ideas off each other and move forward. We won 100s of years for people. This is a profession for the state workers and attorneys and their really is a code of silence among legal professionals to lay down when it comes to SOs. The SO attorney in Polk is a huge joke I met with him and he wanted 10k saying these cases are difficult we’re talking about a dumb ass registration law that cost me 14k dollars to date. Harmed no one except my family by being forgetful.
Where do I start?
I’ve had two civil cases that were seen as unlooseable until the attorney discovered my s/o conviction.
I’ve been turned down for employment after same.
Second year out, my tax refund was rejected because the IRS thought I was still in prison. The official I spoke with revealed to me her discovery of my s/o conviction and now I owe for a student loan that I paid off in 1992 but I cant prove it so they take my refund.
I’ve tried to retain legal counsel and have come to the conclusion that these punishments wouldn’t exist if not for my conviction.
Lesson learned; Don’t put your hands on little kids and these bad things wont happen to you.
And oh by the way, this business of lessening the degree of your crime by stating “it not like I touched anyone ” or words to that effect? Devided we fall.
Repeat the words of Federal Judge Esther Salas “what we cannot accept is when we are forced to live in fear for our lives because personal information, like our home addresses, can easily be obtained by anyone seeking to do us or our families harm.”
Give her credit for it. Spread the word.
What’s the worst could happen? She say for me and not for thee?
Ex communi Periculo 🍺
Lesson learned; Don’t put your hands on little kids and these bad things wont happen to you.
Touching little kids is NOT the only crime considered to be a “sexual offense”. Lemme give you a little bit of a list:
•DON’T GET CAUGHT SCREWING IN THE BACK SEAT OF A CAR.
•DON’T GET CAUGHT HAVING SEX ON A TROPICAL BEACH NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING AND MEMORABLE IT COULD BE.
•DON’T BE A TEENAGER AND SEND/RECEIVE NUDES TO/FROM OTHER TEENAGERS.
•DON’T BE MORE THAN 2 YRS AND 1 DAY OLDER THAN YOUR ROMANTIC PARTNER IF YOUR PARTNER IS UNDER THE STATE’S LEGAL AGE OF CONSENT LAW.
•DON’T STOP ON THE HIGHWAY TO PISS IN THE BUSHES.
•DON’T HAVE A ONE-NIGHT-STAND WITH A FEMINIST WHO MIGHT DECIDE THE NEXT DAY THAT SHE REGRETS SLEEPING WITH YOU.
•DON’T ACCIDENTALLY DOWNLOAD CHILD PORN WHEN DOWNLOADING MUSIC/MOVIES FROM INTERNET SITES.
•DON’T ACCIDENTALLY WALK THROUGH YOUR OWN HOME NAKED OUT OF THE SHOWER WHEN YOUR WINDOWS ARE OPEN.
•DON’T ALLOW YOUR KIDS/STEP-KIDS TO ACCIDENTALLY WALK IN ON YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE/PARTNER HAVING SEX. PAD LOCK THE BEDROOM DOOR.
•DON’T HAVE SEX WITH YOUR PARTNER/SPOUSE WHILE ONE OR BOTH OF YOU ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANYTHING (TONS OF GOODIE-TWO-SHOES SEX OFFENSE HATERS WOULD BE IN PRISON AND ON THE REGISTRY IF THEY WERE EVER CHARGED AND CONVICTED OF SCREWING WHILE HIGH ON SOMETHING. CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I’VE BEEN TOLD HOW AMAZING SEX FEELS WITH THE USE OF CRYSTAL METH AND ECSTASY).
And that’s just a short list of things that can get a person on the most feared list in the USA. I’m sure there’s more.
**And oh by the way, this business of lessening the degree of your crime by stating “it not like I touched anyone ” **
Well…if the registered person actually DIDN’T touch anyone then please explain what it being “lessened”? Your words tell me that you have been officially brainwashed by the formula used in the S.O. treatment groups. This is definitely THEIR type of language.
Some attorneys won’t take them simply because they think they’ll lose, amirite?
Really? the public defender office doesn’t give A rat’s AZZ about trying to defend you. All they wanted to do is make deals.. I got into trouble in 1989 I was told to take probation bam !
I got violated by a probation officer who felt he was my judge jury and excutioner so I ran and the B*tch I was dating lied on me and false charges on me and guess what another plea deal Now after 30 years I am still paying for my crimes!!! No decent job but yet I have an Assoicates degree.
My apt has bed bugs and cock roaches beats 114 heat and I have other neigbors who feel their sex crimes are better than mine and lie on me… So the public defenders office should be label as Assistant state attorney office… After all they have their hands up the P, defenders butt and move their lips.
A group by the name of “Floridians for Equality and Justice” is mailing out fliers saying she was “defending a sexual predator”.
Welp! So much the part about “Equality”, eh? People are shitbags no matter which political party they belong to. “Equality” my ass. This ‘group of Floridians’ should get tons of emails from everyone in here asking how they are encouraging “equality”.
this is a must see : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WghQsOmy0Ig
Is there a list of good attorneys who don’t mind representing RSOs?
List is on our website under resources.
I’d recommend Ron Kliener.
I contacted some from the list on the site. Ron will return your call before you die of old age. Can’t say that about the others I contacted. He’s also very knowledgeable about the registry. That was not my expierence with others. But again this is just MY opinion.