Legal Question

I thought anyone could hire an attorney for anything?

I've seen it done in murder cases but its unusual. Seems like the mayor's family would want to follow the law, not break it.

quote:

Originally posted by Trutooit-II:
Seems like the mayor's family would want to follow the law, not break it.

But who was she hurting by using the golf cart?

If it isn't street legal it's a hazard. It wouldn't hurt anyone until someone got run over because the didn't have proper lights/reflectors. Then we'd have a bunch of bleeding hearts blaming the cops for not enforcing the law.

I understand what you're saying but didn't she only use it during the daytime?

cherokee is not your typical town, no sidewalks, this is not about golf cart, its personal everyone should realize this.

quote:

Originally posted by rechardbettyrey:
cherokee is not your typical town, no sidewalks, this is not about golf cart, its personal everyone should realize this.

Yep. Pretty obvious that this is the case.

yep....strickly personal...no one actually objected to the fact that this lady was in her golf cart because she CANNOT walk! Cherokee is NOT NY City....Vehicles can see her! You can ride a bicycle on the street! For heavens sake, put lights and flags on the cart for her and leave her alone! Personal, personal, personal!

quote:

Originally posted by semiannualchick:
I thought anyone could hire an attorney for anything?

I don't think you get it: the OP was asking why a private citizen is hiring an attorney to prosecute someone else. Obviously it's not the job of a private citizen to be lining up particular prosecutors for a criminal case. This is the state's job. You know, when you hear the line "the people vs. John Doe," well "The people" is the government acting on behalf of all citizens, not on the behalf of one particular citizen.

So, yes, one can hire an attorney "for anything" as you said, but one exception is criminal cases where one is on the prosecuting side. For instance, if someone murders a close family member of mine, I can't run out and say I want Nancy Grace to come in and take the place of the local DA. It doesn't work that way. The government is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases -- private citizens have little say in the matter (even if you are the victim). In fact, even if you are the victim and drop the charges, the government can still prosecute against your wishes if they so desire. This sometimes happens in battered wife cases.

The ability to pick one's "prosecutor" only applies in civil trials (lawsuits) when one is the plaintiff.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Perhaps a real lawyer can clarify this whole idea of a private citizen hiring a prosecutor.

It is perfectly legal for an attorney not in the employ of Government to prosecute cases. It's called "private prosecution". It can lead to allegations of biased prosecution though, and is not commonplace anymore. Some states have barred it, others still allow it.

I have heard of it several times. There was a rape case in Lauderdale County many years ago where the husband of the victim retained a very influential attorney from outside this area to prosecute the offender. The offender was convicted and sentenced to a long confinement.

Clover-Dale, the murder case I talked about happened in Colbert County some decades ago, but the hired lawyer did basically "take over" the prosecution. My cousin worked with the defendant's wife. The DA was still "in charge" but this lawyer from B'ham ran the show. And they didn't get a conviction. I was pretty young but I heard my family say this rich family hiring a lawyer from outside the Shoals didn't help the prosecution, it helped the defense.

I also still hear about some families hiring their own investigators and its pretty common where the state doesn't have the funds.

quote:

Originally posted by Killen Lady:
yep....strickly personal...no one actually objected to the fact that this lady was in her golf cart because she CANNOT walk! Cherokee is NOT NY City....Vehicles can see her! You can ride a bicycle on the street! For heavens sake, put lights and flags on the cart for her and leave her alone! Personal, personal, personal!

The woman can walk. I guess she doesn't walk well but she can walk. Its sort of where do you draw the line with not enforcing the laws. Did she get away with it because she was the mayor's wife. Now she's hired a private lawyer rather than paying her fine and owning up to breaking the law. She isn't even trying to say she didn't do it. She's saying she's above the law. If I rode a golf cart between my family's houses in Killen and got a ticket and came on here and complained, who would say it was o.k. for me to do it?

quote:

Originally posted by Sassy Kims:
It is perfectly legal for an attorney not in the employ of Government to prosecute cases. It's called "private prosecution". It can lead to allegations of biased prosecution though, and is not commonplace anymore. Some states have barred it, others still allow it.

I have heard of it several times. There was a rape case in Lauderdale County many years ago where the husband of the victim retained a very influential attorney from outside this area to prosecute the offender. The offender was convicted and sentenced to a long confinement.

I was going to cite the same example. It is not common, but it does happen.

The same thing will end up happening in the Chief Tony Logan case (if it goes to trial) because everyone around has recused themselves from the prosecution of this case. If they cannot find an outside prosecutor to handle the case then more than likely a Defense Attorney will be the one to prosecute the case against Logan.

quote:

Originally posted by Clover-Dale:


So, yes, one can hire an attorney "for anything" as you said, but one exception is criminal cases where one is on the prosecuting side. For instance, if someone murders a close family member of mine, I can't run out and say I want Nancy Grace to come in and take the place of the local DA. It doesn't work that way. The government is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases -- private citizens have little say in the matter (even if you are the victim).

The ability to pick one's "prosecutor" only applies in civil trials (lawsuits) when one is the plaintiff.

Actually this is incorrect. A private citizen or a family in case of a victim's family can hire a private attorney to prosecute a criminal case as a Special Prosecutor. It requires the consent of the Court but it does happen.