Justin Titus, My Lawyer Is Now Second Chair

After this hearing, where my attorney made it clear he was in with the other side, I left him a message announcing he was now "second chair."

There are things to be done. I am going to detail every single thing that was done from this case hereout. And every single thing that was done and said in court today.

I told my lawyer, as he was laughing with the AG, that I wanted an audio tape of this hearing. No one liked that. Why? because I was the only kick-ass attorney in the whole room.

If I were to win an award meritoriously, it should be for law. I saw through every single sly angle my own lawyer tried to use and get me to take. I knew EXACTLY how this was being set up.

I am now fully convinced that my dismissal of my misdemeanor was the doing of the Prosecuting Attorney and not Mr. Titus. So thank you, publicly, to Justin Miller, for doing the right thing, even if it came later than I wanted. Thank you.

And before people get MAD at me, I will describe exactly why I'm entitled to my opinion:

Justin Titus forced me to wait until the DAY BEFORE the hearing, to go over matters with me and let me know if there would be a continuance or not. I walked into the office in the morning, but he told me to show up that afternoon. If I talked to him in the afternoon, he and the state knew I would have NO time to prepare my own motions or strategy prior to the hearing. They all knew it would then be closing time and then in the morning I visited my son and then there was the hearing. That leaves ZERO time for the "opposition".

Oh it gets better. These first few things just lead up to the greater finales.

Justin Titus told me he spoke to Anne McIntosh, AG, a week earlier. He talked to her on the phone. But he didn't want to tell me what their plan was until the last minute and then he, like former public defenders I've had in this town, who want to exchange favors, tried to push me into something that wasn't good for me or my case.

Today, after the hearing, I left, and then went back, and Justin certaintly was laughing it up with Anne McIntosh. It was just them and one other person and Anne smirked at me as she walked by. She didn't like the fact that I brought up, in the record, how she was so willing to increase visitation 3 months ago but not now.

Strike One: Stringing out discussing the details of my case with me until the day before a hearing.

Strike Two: Trying to pressure me into signing an order from the state on the day before a hearing, which he knew was not in my son's best interests nor was it in the best interest of my case or defense.

Strike Three: Justin cannot conceal his displeasure when he gets "good news" from me, which would help my case. He looked upset and nervous when I said I might get money from college financial aid and wanted to know how soon. He wanted to know where my "evidence" was stored and to have it sent to him. He wanted to know how soon I'd get unemployment and then did nothing in the hearing to prevent me from getting screwed OUT of it. Instead of being HAPPY that my drug evaluation, my hair analysis, came back completely clean, he wasn't happy about it. I saw the look on his face drop. It was something GOOD for me, and yet he wasn't happy about the good things. Women investigators are always superior to men when detecting facial expression changes and intuiting what it means.

Strike Four: Justin knew I had a good argument for requesting continuance and that I could push all the shit back if I got one. So what did he do? I found out from his secretary that he was planning to NOT ask for one. She told me, "He said you only got one if you signed the order." I told her, "No, that's not what he said." So I booked it up to court and sure enough, he was telling me, ON THE SPOT, that he wants to "go forward". I said, "Not with a psych eval like that and you haven't seen my evidence and you have had my case for less than a week." I told him, in court today, I did NOT want to go forward and he tried to bribe me with false claims, saying he wanted to argue for more "visitation". I told him I already knew the Judge wouldn't do this when the state was refusing, and when all the state wanted to do was dig in and try to get me to "comply" with services I shouldn't be forced to comply with and for which I'm in no position to comply with. I had already told Justin that the state told me I had to have a head exam and that THEY were not paying for it because according to THEIR documents, I was severely mentally ill, and qualified for mental illness disability. So, Michelle Erickson told me, I would either file myself as mentally disabled, using THEIR psych's results as the "evidence" or I wouldn't get a head exam. I told Justin that by forcing me to claim I was mentally disabled, I would lose my unemployment benefits which I'm entitled to. He said, "How much are you getting?" I said I didn't know, but that if I'm telling the state I'm "able" to work and then I'm forced by the state to say I'm "disabled", I would lose my unemployment because only those who are "able" and are looking, can receive benefits. What did Justin do? he just chalked this up as another point for Wenatchee CPS.

I told Justin over and over, NOT to go forward in this hearing but he tried to push it anyway and then the Judge just sided with them. The Judge didn't even allow us to go first, but let the state go, and get into details of what they wanted. My attorney should have said from the outset, in order not to waive the right to continuance, that he objected and was asking for a continuance, but do you know how he WORDED it to the Judge? "As a PRELIMINARY MATTER, your honor, my client wants a continuance." The Judge refused to grant a continuance even though Justin has only been signed on for a few days, and even though he was in NO position to advocate or argue for me in any way. And everyone knew it.

When I wouldn't back down, he finally said I wanted a continuance, but he worded it as a "preliminary matter" indicating HE had things to say of his own.

Strike Five: Justin filed nothing. Not even a Motion For Continuance, which he knew I would do, if HE did not.

Strike Six: Not only did Justin not file a Motion For Continuance, which he knew was best for my case, he didn't file anything at all. Nothing. Not one paper document from the defense went into the file. The Judge granted every single Motion or request made by the state.

Strike Seven: Justin purposefully made a moot argument. I told Justin I was entitled to a psych eval that was independent and not paid for or contracted with, the state. I told him I had someone in mind, who knew the family well and who was aware of family history. Today, Justin told me last minute HE knew of a psychologist that was good and he'd argue this. I told him, "Well, I'll look at your guy, but I want to look at this other one too."

Justin then, without having told ME FIRST, told the Judge there was another "DSHS contracted psychologist" who was renowned and WE wanted HIM. NOTICE, all legal beagles, how he purposefully let the Judge know this other guy was ALSO contracted with DSHS.

Hmmm. Suddenly, there is room for the Judge to REFUSE to grant an independent evaluation because, voila! it's apples and oranges! What? Why would a Judge grant monies for a state contracted attorney when a state contracted attorney already DID the evaluation? It would be like giving the state TWO of their own opinions. He knew that the REAL argument was that the defense has the right to an "independent" NON-STATE CONTRACTED psychological evaluation. Justin purposefully tried to pull this "other psychologist" out at the last minute, so it WEAKENED the argument for an independent evaluation. It also gave Judge Hotchkiss wiggle room and he knew it.

Strike Eight: Justin knows, just as the state knows, that if I got a good psych evaluation, it would prevent them from forcing me to go onto mental disability, and would screw up my unemployment claim which the state has already admittedly dropped the ball on several times. Someone doesn't want me to get paid for anything, and they don't want my former employers to have to pay a DIME. They also know that if I don't have insurance and he didn't argue the state has to pay for it, that I would then have to pay for my own independent psychological evaluation out of my pocket as well as pay for a head exam, just to be in compliance with the court.

Strike Nine: Justin refused to make a motion to allow audio recording of the visits, in order to keep the record straight. After I told HIM, in his office, that there was no excuse not to have audio monitoring, because the monitor isn't even supposed to speak to me and it's just me and my son, the very NEXT DAY, the state AG changes what was in the order Justin handed to me the day before, and they suddenly decided to ask the Judge to allow the monitor to begin "instructing" me on my parenting. Why? Because they want her to be talking, so they can argue SHE can't be recorded without her consent.

I let the Judge know, that there is a need for audio monitoring or recording, because this same woman has already given me "instructions" on how I could best get my son back, and SHE told me I had better join people in Wenatchee and that area, and choose a GANG or I would lose my son. Why should I join a gang unless people at the state who are controlling this whole case, are in a gang?

They purposefully set it up so I lost everything.

Then, the state was allowed to say a lot of shitty things about me on the record, and claimed I was disruptive and that's why they needed a security guard who is totally unnecessary. My lawyer didn't defend me.

At the end, I said I wanted to address the court. Justin tried to keep me from saying a word, saying it was against his "advice". And then he stood up to the Judge and maybe hoped the Judge would agree not to let me talk, because Jusint informed him it was against his advice. OR, it may have been, that since Justin is getting PAID "under the table" or is exchanging favors, he just wanted everyone from the bench and the state to know he had TRIED to keep his client's lips zipped.

NICE TRY.

I stood up, and although I was shaking I had so much adrenaline going and was so upset by this, I nailed every point. I defended my SON and what his rights were and what the state was trying to do. The only point I forgot to make was that the independent psych eval was to be with someone my family knows, and therefore, was not state contracted.

I also made a very good point for audio taping visits, which is going to be interesting.

Basically, when the Judge said I was done talking, I said politely, "Thank you Your Honor for letting me get this all onto the record."

Because, where there is not a written record, there is certaintly an audio recording of the hearing, and THAT's where I knew I saved my defense from going into the trash.

At the end, when I walked back into the courtroom where Justin and the AG Anne McIntosh were enjoying themselves, I said, "I forgot to tell you, I want audio recordings of this hearing, and all of them."

The faces dropped.

And Miss Not-So-Crazy-And-Not-So-Stupid knows why.

"For the civil case" I said.

I may not get my son back. My son may be adopted out until he is old enough to choose to be adopted back by his mother.

But I am making DAMN sure there is a civil case and if I have to do it Pro Se, I will.

I might grow brains while Titus is growing horns.

I might add, I had no small sense of satisfaction when, after I'd made my own speech, the smirking in the courtroom came to an end.

I said to the guy who drove me over for the hearing, after ranting forever, I said, "You know what though? I was the best attorney in the whole room." I told him I would actually, probably, be a very good attorney and that I hoped this didn't mean this is my calling.

Because I kicked ass with zero resources and only 10 minutes prep time.