I walked into court yesterday and saw a defense attorney in a somewhat heated argument with a prosecutor. After a few minutes, I learned the defense attorney was mad that his client’s case could not be resolved that day. I then went on to find out the attorney’s client had flown down from New Jersey for the court date. Not only that, this was the third time the client had flown down to Texas just to go to court!
This attorney did not routinely practice in this particular court. What he didn’t know is that by the rules of the court his client was not required to appear at the first 4-5 settings. So essentially he made his client fly from New Jersey to Texas multiple times even though his presence was not required. When you are hiring an attorney, make sure it is someone who practices in the appropriate court. No matter how smart an attorney is, he or she is much less effective in a county where they don’t know the local rules, judges, or prosecutors. Even though the law is the same throughout the state of Texas, it gets applied differently in every county. Hire an attorney who can put you in the best position for success.