Sunday, December 3, 2023
San Diego Police Brutality, Harassment, and Living with PTSD
The City of San Diego and the San Diego Police Department have a well-documented history of discrimination against me. I have been physically assaulted by SDPD twice without impunity, had two unlawful attempts made at having my gun rights stripped from me, harrass me by writing inactionable patking citations, and stalk me around my own neighborhood. The first assault occurred over Memorial Day weekend of 2018 when I was dragged out of my car for changing my mind about making a left turn into a tacoshop parking lot that was closing in less than 10 minutes after leaving the law library from a night of studying. The police officer wrongfully accused me of DWI, ripped me out of my vehicle, held me down by the neck, falsely imprisioned me, wrongfully impounded my vehcile, and caused a plethora of health issues ranging from PTSD, physical injuries, loss of companionship, job less, and more. The latest attack occurred on November 30, 2023 after studing at a local cafe–I came out to an illegal parking ticket for parking in a prominently marked, designated city parking spot in a residential neighborhood. I have been written over 40 tickets over the course of seven years, the most tickets I have ever received in my life, and only 4 of them have been actionable. The time consumed fighting city corruption has a SEVERE negative impacts on my work, ability to take care of myself, my family, friends, mental, and physical health.
Sunday, August 27, 2023
The Right Questions to Ask BEFORE Hiring an Attorney
"It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."— George Carlin
Unfortunately, bad lawyers are just a few of the bad actors who might materialize in your dreams, and manifest into your reality as waking nightmares if you are not prudent. This is why the selection of a good lawyer is important from the onset of your legal matter.
I have learned through personal experience how critical the right attorney is to the proper advocation, settlement, and resolution of a claim. Below, I am going to share my knowledge and experience as both, a lawyer and client, as well as some of the strategies I have used in my own selection of representation:
***WARNING*** The following is NOT legal advice and is to be construed only as LEGAL INFORMATION. You will hear this from almost EVERY attorney in which you contact for possible representation. Trust me, they will make it abundatnly clear for liability purposes, that beyond listening to your story to determine whether or not you have a viable case, there is to be ZERO confusion about there being the existence of, or even a small inkling of an attonry/client relationship until an agreement for legal representation has been signed. And for good reason because by the sheer virtue of thier position as legal professionals, anything construed as legal advice could land a lawyer in hotwater! This article is intended to promote critical thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of each reader's own unique, individual legal claims. Ultimately, it is the reader or person seeking information about how to proceed with his or her legal claims decision: Self-representation or the more costly route (but oftentimes necessary one) of hiring an attorney. In fact, it would be rather absurd for a stranger over the internet to construe a legal article intended for informational purposes as a contract for legal services.
1. REPRESENTATION MATTERS: In Pro Per is short for, "In Propria Persona" which is a fancy legal way of referring to a person acting as his or her own attorney. It is THE person choosing self representation and by default initiating and defending legal claims without the aid of a licensed legal professional. In my opinion, it is always a good idea to hire a lawyer. As much as we all despise legal fees, there is oftentimes a reason other than greed, that lawyers get paid so well. Aside from the fact that law school is a six figure career choice situation (*gasp*), legal work is extremely tedious and time consuming. Not to mention that the legal field is an ever evolving, constantly changing industry (yes, it is an industry and you would be misinformed to think otherwise)that demands a lawyer's knowledge of the law to be current as the changes occur which requires heavy amounts of research to ensure the most current laws, codes, practices, procedures, regulations, etcetera are being used. This is critical for the reason that if a lawyer or in pro per litigant is not using the most current, up to date law(s) and practices for each court jursidiction's own unique rules, your legal complaint will never see the light of day!
With that being said, of course there are many reasons why people may choose to represent themselves: a. Represention NOT Allowed: Unless you're an actual lawyer, litigants are not allowed to have a lawyer in SMALL CLAIMS court. Thus, albeit it be good or bad, everyone in small claims court is representing themselves (except lawyers who wind up in the small claims court). b. Affordability: Many choose to forfeit hiring a lawyer due to the high costs associated with retaining legal representation. If you're unable to afford a lawyer, I reccomend to start first by looking into free avaialble resources. Each state has its own state bar association which is supposed to assist the public with access to the legal system. Access includes, but is not limited to matching clients with attorneys who will take cases on a contingent fee agreement (i.e., a type of legal fee agreeement in which the lawyer/law firm agrees to foot the bill for all upfront costs associated with litigation, and the lawyer/law firm only receives compensation (i.e., a percentage of the recovery, judgment, settlement, etcetera) IF the outcome is in favor of the client). State bar associations license, regulate, and sanction (i.e., penalize) attorneys for misconduct as well in the event the outcome is unfavorable as a result of attorney MISCONDUCT. Heavy emphasis on misconduct for the reason of simply being butthurt over the outcome of a case (i.e., judgment/verdict, settlement amount, court order(s), etcetera) does not always arise to the level of actual attorney misconduct. I provide this extraneous information in order to encourage everyone to please report attorney misconduct because apparently there are not enough people doing this or we wouldn't have so many bad and/or incompetent actors in the profession! Contrary to popular belieft, lawyers are not above the law (or GOD). I will be honest though, not all state bar associations are created equal-some are OBJECTIVELY better than others. It has been my own personal experience that the one time I have utilized the San Diego County Bar Association (i.e., the ONLY and last time most likely I'll ever reach out to them for assistance), the SDCBA was neither insightful nor helpful: I received three attorney referrals to which I never received an answer or return phone call. One of the references didn't even have a voicemail setup! All I'm saying is don't hold your breath for the calvary to arrive...It's a free service and it (unfortunately) oftentimes shows. c. Confidence: As previously mentioned, there is a ton of work that goes on both, up front and behind the scenes in regards to initiating a lawsuit. It requires requisite legal knowledge of current law, legal research, procedures of the court overseeing your case, FILING DEADLINES, FILING DEADLINES, and FILING DEADLINES. If you feel confident in your capabilities to research, initiate, maintain, meet various deadlines, and timely respond to opposing counsel, then self representation (and a lucrative career in the legal profession might as well be for you). In this case, confidence is acieved by placing All this to say, some people actually choose to self-representation even if they are able to afford a lawyer for the reason they have confidence they can handle the case by themselves. d. Best Option Available: When representation is either disallowed or unaccessible,the right resources are unobtainable or unavailable, free community resources or self-representation is for sure better than no representation at all. A body is well, better than no body at all. So YES, REPRESENTATION MATTERS (Even if it's just you). I will end by stating that an often overlooked, but very important resource that people fail to take into consideration is the extremely valuable, finite resource known as TIME. Time is money, and vice versa. Take into consideration that the money benefit you are saving in litigation costs are being exchanged (i.e., consumed) for your time. If you live an active lifestyle, are a town socialite, or just another regular Joe with too much on your plate, think about all of the extra, non-existent hours you're going to have to yield doing legal research and being a jr. mint attorney! 2. TYPE OF CASES AND CLAIMS MATTER: It is important you know exactly what kind of case and claims you have for the reason that knowing exactly what type of claims and/or case you have is essential to not only selecting the right attorney but ensuring that your retained counsel is capable of representing you throughout the entirety of your case once it is filed. Let me explain: a. Right Attorney: It is CRUCIAL that you find a lawyer who has the relevant legal experience within the practice area(s) you need. TAKE YOUR TIME SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT LAWYER. If you are unsure, conduct a "Google Search" for types of attorneys and crossreference attorney directories to ensure that you are only receiving search results for lawyers specific to your legal claims. Check with your state bar associations but don't hold your breath for them to provide any meaningful insight to your situation.You can also review a lawyer's legal background and disciplinary record on your state bar website. It may sound like common sense, but common sense is not very common in today's world. Furthermore, people get blinded by the prestige, glitz and glamour of the profession and titles...DO NOT BE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE!!! b. State or Federal Court Case: As the Plaintiff, it is important to have a lawyer prepared to defend your case not only in state court, but in the event that a Defendant meets the requirements for removing a case from state to federal court, the attorney needs to be prepared to defend you regardless of which court has jurisdiction (i.e., state or federal) over your claims. OR, the lawyer should candid about his or her capabilites and have you already prepared menatlly to seek out other attorneys or have a few referrals on hand. The same concept applies in the event that your case begins in federal court and gets remanded back to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, improper venue, etcetera. c. Civil, Criminal, or BOTH: This is huge for the reason that the type of case (i.e., civil or criminal) will determine the rules, procedures, outcomes, and CONSEQUENCES resulting from the claim(s). Competence is ALWAYS important in respect to the law, but it is more important (in my humble opinion) in criminal court proceedings for the reason that a Defendant's life (i.e., liberty, and property) may literally hang in the balance. More oftentimes than not, criminal liability also leads to civil liability. Therefore, selecting a lawyer based on area of legal need and strategy could potentially take precedence over other considerations. Of course, if money is no object, if one can afford to retain, the lawyer will not complain. 3. Reputation: Unless you have reproductive organs of steel, this is not necessarily a question to ask directly to your attorney, but perhaps one you should put to yourself (and an internet search engine instead): "What is the professional reputation of ABC law firm?". Moreover, what have real people said about them in reviews? If you have access to any of the major legal search engines (i.e., Bloomberg Law, Lexis Nexis, WestLaw, Klein Online, etc.), you can easily look up statistics for attorneys and judges almost as if looking at sports draft picks! It is important that legal professionals take the practice's professional ethics seriously, because while people's general beliefs and opinions don't really matter for the reason that people in today's world are HORRIBLE judges of character for the fact that our soceity is in rapid moral decay, opinions matter moreso in terms of "branding". In a world where even the most greasist of greaseballs tend to be judgment proof, we all hopefull strive to select the least greasiest of greaseballs possible. Final Takeaway: In pro per or no, that is the question. The decision is up to each individual litigant and always results in a binding decision that each litigant may have to abide by indefinitely.Each choice has its own unique sets of pros and cons.
1. REPRESENTATION MATTERS: In Pro Per is short for, "In Propria Persona" which is a fancy legal way of referring to a person acting as his or her own attorney. It is THE person choosing self representation and by default initiating and defending legal claims without the aid of a licensed legal professional. In my opinion, it is always a good idea to hire a lawyer. As much as we all despise legal fees, there is oftentimes a reason other than greed, that lawyers get paid so well. Aside from the fact that law school is a six figure career choice situation (*gasp*), legal work is extremely tedious and time consuming. Not to mention that the legal field is an ever evolving, constantly changing industry (yes, it is an industry and you would be misinformed to think otherwise)that demands a lawyer's knowledge of the law to be current as the changes occur which requires heavy amounts of research to ensure the most current laws, codes, practices, procedures, regulations, etcetera are being used. This is critical for the reason that if a lawyer or in pro per litigant is not using the most current, up to date law(s) and practices for each court jursidiction's own unique rules, your legal complaint will never see the light of day!
With that being said, of course there are many reasons why people may choose to represent themselves: a. Represention NOT Allowed: Unless you're an actual lawyer, litigants are not allowed to have a lawyer in SMALL CLAIMS court. Thus, albeit it be good or bad, everyone in small claims court is representing themselves (except lawyers who wind up in the small claims court). b. Affordability: Many choose to forfeit hiring a lawyer due to the high costs associated with retaining legal representation. If you're unable to afford a lawyer, I reccomend to start first by looking into free avaialble resources. Each state has its own state bar association which is supposed to assist the public with access to the legal system. Access includes, but is not limited to matching clients with attorneys who will take cases on a contingent fee agreement (i.e., a type of legal fee agreeement in which the lawyer/law firm agrees to foot the bill for all upfront costs associated with litigation, and the lawyer/law firm only receives compensation (i.e., a percentage of the recovery, judgment, settlement, etcetera) IF the outcome is in favor of the client). State bar associations license, regulate, and sanction (i.e., penalize) attorneys for misconduct as well in the event the outcome is unfavorable as a result of attorney MISCONDUCT. Heavy emphasis on misconduct for the reason of simply being butthurt over the outcome of a case (i.e., judgment/verdict, settlement amount, court order(s), etcetera) does not always arise to the level of actual attorney misconduct. I provide this extraneous information in order to encourage everyone to please report attorney misconduct because apparently there are not enough people doing this or we wouldn't have so many bad and/or incompetent actors in the profession! Contrary to popular belieft, lawyers are not above the law (or GOD). I will be honest though, not all state bar associations are created equal-some are OBJECTIVELY better than others. It has been my own personal experience that the one time I have utilized the San Diego County Bar Association (i.e., the ONLY and last time most likely I'll ever reach out to them for assistance), the SDCBA was neither insightful nor helpful: I received three attorney referrals to which I never received an answer or return phone call. One of the references didn't even have a voicemail setup! All I'm saying is don't hold your breath for the calvary to arrive...It's a free service and it (unfortunately) oftentimes shows. c. Confidence: As previously mentioned, there is a ton of work that goes on both, up front and behind the scenes in regards to initiating a lawsuit. It requires requisite legal knowledge of current law, legal research, procedures of the court overseeing your case, FILING DEADLINES, FILING DEADLINES, and FILING DEADLINES. If you feel confident in your capabilities to research, initiate, maintain, meet various deadlines, and timely respond to opposing counsel, then self representation (and a lucrative career in the legal profession might as well be for you). In this case, confidence is acieved by placing All this to say, some people actually choose to self-representation even if they are able to afford a lawyer for the reason they have confidence they can handle the case by themselves. d. Best Option Available: When representation is either disallowed or unaccessible,the right resources are unobtainable or unavailable, free community resources or self-representation is for sure better than no representation at all. A body is well, better than no body at all. So YES, REPRESENTATION MATTERS (Even if it's just you). I will end by stating that an often overlooked, but very important resource that people fail to take into consideration is the extremely valuable, finite resource known as TIME. Time is money, and vice versa. Take into consideration that the money benefit you are saving in litigation costs are being exchanged (i.e., consumed) for your time. If you live an active lifestyle, are a town socialite, or just another regular Joe with too much on your plate, think about all of the extra, non-existent hours you're going to have to yield doing legal research and being a jr. mint attorney! 2. TYPE OF CASES AND CLAIMS MATTER: It is important you know exactly what kind of case and claims you have for the reason that knowing exactly what type of claims and/or case you have is essential to not only selecting the right attorney but ensuring that your retained counsel is capable of representing you throughout the entirety of your case once it is filed. Let me explain: a. Right Attorney: It is CRUCIAL that you find a lawyer who has the relevant legal experience within the practice area(s) you need. TAKE YOUR TIME SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT LAWYER. If you are unsure, conduct a "Google Search" for types of attorneys and crossreference attorney directories to ensure that you are only receiving search results for lawyers specific to your legal claims. Check with your state bar associations but don't hold your breath for them to provide any meaningful insight to your situation.You can also review a lawyer's legal background and disciplinary record on your state bar website. It may sound like common sense, but common sense is not very common in today's world. Furthermore, people get blinded by the prestige, glitz and glamour of the profession and titles...DO NOT BE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE!!! b. State or Federal Court Case: As the Plaintiff, it is important to have a lawyer prepared to defend your case not only in state court, but in the event that a Defendant meets the requirements for removing a case from state to federal court, the attorney needs to be prepared to defend you regardless of which court has jurisdiction (i.e., state or federal) over your claims. OR, the lawyer should candid about his or her capabilites and have you already prepared menatlly to seek out other attorneys or have a few referrals on hand. The same concept applies in the event that your case begins in federal court and gets remanded back to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, improper venue, etcetera. c. Civil, Criminal, or BOTH: This is huge for the reason that the type of case (i.e., civil or criminal) will determine the rules, procedures, outcomes, and CONSEQUENCES resulting from the claim(s). Competence is ALWAYS important in respect to the law, but it is more important (in my humble opinion) in criminal court proceedings for the reason that a Defendant's life (i.e., liberty, and property) may literally hang in the balance. More oftentimes than not, criminal liability also leads to civil liability. Therefore, selecting a lawyer based on area of legal need and strategy could potentially take precedence over other considerations. Of course, if money is no object, if one can afford to retain, the lawyer will not complain. 3. Reputation: Unless you have reproductive organs of steel, this is not necessarily a question to ask directly to your attorney, but perhaps one you should put to yourself (and an internet search engine instead): "What is the professional reputation of ABC law firm?". Moreover, what have real people said about them in reviews? If you have access to any of the major legal search engines (i.e., Bloomberg Law, Lexis Nexis, WestLaw, Klein Online, etc.), you can easily look up statistics for attorneys and judges almost as if looking at sports draft picks! It is important that legal professionals take the practice's professional ethics seriously, because while people's general beliefs and opinions don't really matter for the reason that people in today's world are HORRIBLE judges of character for the fact that our soceity is in rapid moral decay, opinions matter moreso in terms of "branding". In a world where even the most greasist of greaseballs tend to be judgment proof, we all hopefull strive to select the least greasiest of greaseballs possible. Final Takeaway: In pro per or no, that is the question. The decision is up to each individual litigant and always results in a binding decision that each litigant may have to abide by indefinitely.Each choice has its own unique sets of pros and cons.
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