From our experience, find a lawyer that is invested in you. Our first lawyer, didn't talk to his "client". We gave him the search warrant and he told us to live our lives. Didn't want specifics, didn't talk to our family member to see what he was facing in terms of charges. Didn't seem right, but we stuck with him until I found a reputable attorney online in our area. We went in for our "free consult" and first thing this lawyer did was ask to speak with our family member in private to discuss the charges he could be facing and see if he could help us. After an hour long conversation, this lawyer came and asked the entire family to come in. We all talked about the charges, what would could expect and treated us like his clients before we even put money down. Needless to say, we stuck with this lawyer and he has been amazing.

My advice, is shop around. Google attorneys in your area, do some research. Most offer a "free consult". Make sure this lawyer is invested in you and has your best interest. But either way, I do suggest lawyering up as soon as you can. And it's OK to change lawyers down the road if you feel you're not being represented well. The worst thing we did was not lawyering up soon enough. Let the lawyer answer questions for you. We stopped by our police station and gave them our attorney info as soon as we had his card. Any questions they had, we referred them to our attorney. Don't be afraid to ask questions and see what types of cases your attorney has worked on. Make sure they are capable of taking on your case. It's your money and future after all.

Hope that helped. Good luck!

Thank you. I am so worried about paying for someone. I just hope we can find someone who will work with us.

I searched the state bar website for a defense attorneys and then was able to search for someone who listed sex offenses as a specialty and was in our area. We started there.

Rather than blindly looking for an attorney, sometimes the best method is to ask the people that can give you a fairly accurate answer.

Do you know any court reporters? If you or your family knows one well, sometimes they will give you a suggestion off the record. They would know which lawyers are decent and which are worthless. Many will be reluctant to suggest an attorney, but if you or your family knows one well, he may suggest a couple of decent attorneys.

Westy might be able to shed some light on this. She is a former LE who worked in the courts.

Do you know any former inmates or people who have actually been in the system? I am referring to reputable, honest inmates. I know if I was asked who was a decent attorney in my area, I could tell you which attorneys would do a good job for you and who to avoid. And, I would be happy to do it.

Read the newspapers. Find out which attorneys are constantly mentioned in jury trials. No, it does not mean just because a criminal defense attorney is mentioned, he is good, but it gives you some names. In reading about the case, you can usually find out who will fight like hell for their client and who will roll over for the prosecution.

I know I can read the papers in my area and tell you which ones are good.

Talk to other people who have had dealings with the criminal justice system. Families who have used attorneys can usually tell you which ones are decent attorneys. BUT, find a family member who you feel you can trust.

Pay attention to the attorneys that are well established in the area with experience. No, an older attorney does not necessarily mean a better one, but remember this----he would not have been practicing criminal law if he was totally incompetent.

If the case is a federal case, you then must find an attorney who has had experience dealing with the federal courts.

Although finding the right attorney is a roll of the dice, asking the people who should know will help.

rewdiazepam

Thank you I will be looking in the local paper/news. I only know 2 people that inmates. Both are terrible people. One got off light for CP, but I think it was an appointed. The other got a way harsh sentence for a nothing related. The only person I know only knows attorneys that deal with DWI cases.
We live in a very big city and I would hope that we could find someone good.

Make sure this lawyer knows what the phrase P2P means. Make sure he can tell you the difference between receipt and possession as far as what the mandatory minimum carry (possession carries no mandatory minimum except a day in custody). If he or she can't answer a couple of basic standard questions about this without consulting on the internet or with colleagues, do not use him.

I echo Rew's comments about experience with the federal courts and knowing the AUSA in your case. Your lawyer must know what is important to this particular AUSA. If low risk is important (and it is to all), then you'll need some tests (possibly a polygraph or the ABEL) to show that your husband doesn't have any pedophile tendencies. These tests are risky because their accuracy is questionable but if he scores low on the ABEL and passes a polygraph, it might mean a reduction in the charges from distribution to simple possession.

Also (and I know you won't want to hear this) but it might be a couple years or more before you hear back from the FBI. Your husband will be charged eventually but it may not be right away. He could wait years before he is officially arraigned. Get him in treatment NOW so that when he is arrested, his attorney can say he has done everything possible to better himself between now and the time he is arrested. Get him in treatment with someone YOU CHOOSE at this point, not who the government will choose when he is finally arrested.

You may ask "How can they get away with waiting so long?" The answer is, it is unconscionable. If your husband is so "dangerous" shouldn't he be arrested immediately (I'm not saying he is dangerous, but this is the rationale you should use). When he finally does get arrested 6 months later or a couple of years later without being out on bond, an argument can be made as to the level of danger the AUSA's actually think your husband poses. After all, why let him be a free man without bond or conditions for months or years if he truly posed a threat.

Good luck. My heart goes out to you and your husband.

By the time he is arrested, they will have done a thorough forensic analysis of the computer. Only he knows how many images are on there. It won't become discoverable until the FBI wants it to be. This will most likely move at a very very slow pace, so you will really have to be in it for the long haul.

Also, the "treating" psychologist you chose should not be the defense expert psychologist you retain. That would be a conflict of interest.

My son got railroaded the same way. "The more you help us, the more we can help you", they told him. He told them whatever they wanted to hear, which wasn't much because he hadn't done anything besides download. But it was a confession and that was enough.

I am sorry sorry. I read your previous post. I know you are in an acute state of shock right now. My heart breaks for you. Hang in there and draw upon the strength of everyone in this forum and a higher power, if you believe in one.

Here's the standard they use: If they think your husband had any contacts with minors over the computer, they will take him into custody. If they thought he was a producer of the material, they would immediately take him into custody and he would not get bond under either of those circumstances. If they think it is just a standard possession case, they'll sit on it.

Again, get him into treatment NOW so that this person can rave about him months or years in the future when they come back.

Sorry, but I've lived through this with my son so I have to make sure I am telling you everything you may not to know.

God bless!!!!

everything you may want to know (also you may not want to know, but that's not what I meant)

Thank you michiganfamily. This helps. My husband is sucidal and it hurts. I know he told them what they wanted to hear. We are so afraid to act normal. What is normal? They told me it could be months to years. How do we keep talking to people as though nothing has happened? When do we cut ties with people?

I hate to say this, but you have to adjust to a new normal. The position you are in is a position of limbo. This will NOT be made public until he is arraigned. As hard as this will be to hear, you have to go on with your lives until this happens. He shouldn't quit his job, you shouldn't change anything. Don't do anything to arouse other people's suspicions. Don't talk about this case with ANYONE unless you trust them with your life. When they arrest him, it will probably make the news. Right now, other than your neighbors who might have been around to see the raid, no one will know what will have happened.

Again, the biggest thing: Find a good therapist who can write great reports, find a good specialist who can evaluate him favorably and try to find the best lawyer you can.

What you are going through now is the worst it will get. You'll feel a sense of relief when he is arrested, strangely enough. Then the process will be underway We felt that way. This limbo period is purgatory. But it will get better.

As far as his being suicidal, remind him that most likely, nothing is going to happen soon. He is not an immediate danger (I can't guarantee this, but it happens this way more often than not) Remind him that what he did doesn't make him a horrible person. He has never touched a child. He had a bad habit in the privacy of his house but that does not make him a criminal, only be name. That people will come around and understand, in time. And that this interim time can be used to make a positive impression on the AUSA. Just think if he was immediately arrested and put into a therapy group of pretrial services choosing. In some ways, that would be a much worse situation.

Do you have suggestions for finding a therapist? I don't know how.