Mimi Coffey | Attorney at Law

THE law entitles a citizen accused to a public defender if they are indigent. Indigent would be defined as receiving government assistance for subsistence (unemployment, food stamps, and public housing). The courts require proof of this and to receive a public defender without financially qualifying is a theft offense, which is a crime of moral turpitude and serious. Most people think that a public defender is free to them. It is not. Although the taxpayers pay for this legal service (some counties have a public defender’s office- others use a wheel court appointment system), it is not free to the citizen accused. The law allows the court to order the defendant to pay back the services (at a much discounted rate) back as a condition of the plea or sentence. If it is a dismissal, the judge can order these fees paid back (proof) before the dismissal is signed. The court appointment system does not amount to getting a “free lawyer.” People in prison make the distinction of “free...

To all my past, present and future clients, and for anyone who is curious: If you ever wanted a nutshell version of "DWI at Night, Coffey in the Morning" here you are straight from the source. I have practiced law for 19 years. This defines who I am. At the age of 12, my father encouraged me to be a lawyer after helping me write and practice a Student Council Treasurer campaign speech (I ended the speech, "Vote Me Me for You You" and won, so it's true I come by my marketing quite honestly). In my wildest dreams, I never could have fathomed how much injustice there was in the world of criminal law, particularly DWI. As a new lawyer, I heard about the National College of DUI Defense or NCDD (celebrating its 20th anniversary this year) training held at Harvard every July. I went to it and my world was lit on fire. It was shocking to find out how inaccurate breath testing was; how the National Highway Safety Administration skewed statistics and cond...