Your son was such a good kid in middle school.  He got decent grades, joked around with you and your daughter, played catch with your husband.  But around his sophomore year in high school things started to change.  He started withdrawing, didn’t want to have dinner with the family, and when you forced him to, he was sullen uncommunicative.  When he did speak, he made sure to offend everyone.  He started staying out late, often not returning until after midnight.  At first it was just on the weekends, then any night he wanted, regardless of your objections.  You had no idea where he’d been.  The police have already brought him home a couple times drunk out of his mind and causing problems around town.

Your life hasn’t been ‘normal’ for a while now.  Going to sleep at night is difficult due to the worry about your son, you know the nightmares are coming and you don’t know how to stop them.  You know the day is coming that you get a call from the police letting you know that your son has finally gotten into some serious trouble.  

When the call finally comes, your heart stops.  Your son is calling you from jail.   and all you can think of is, “Thank God, maybe now he’ll get some help.”

He hurriedly and cryptically tells you the news that he, your child that you’ve painstakingly loved and cared for since the day he was born, has been arrested and charged with a terrible crime.  Your world comes unraveled. You can barely focus on the details he is trying to relay before “they” tell him he has one more minute before he has to hang up.  He quickly tells you that the next call will have to be through some kind of pre-paid service and that you’ll have to ‘set that up’.  

You have no idea what to do next.  Your son mentioned something about a hearing the next day to determine bail and that he needs a lawyer.   His final words before ending the call were: 

“Please, just find me a lawyer,
I’m going to need one.” 

You google “How to find a defense attorney” and you are met with millions of results.  As you’re weeding through articles with titles like “10 tips to finding the best criminal defense attorney” and “Signs of a bad criminal lawyer”, your mind wanders to what your child might be experiencing right now. 

You’ve heard the horror stories of county jails with hardened criminals mixed in with ‘regular’ people like your child.  You wonder how long it’s been since he's eaten, and if anyone is threatening him right now.  You’re sure “they” don’t see the same person you see when you look at him.  Yes, he’s gotten in trouble in the past, but deep down you know he’s a good kid, right?   But the realization washes over you that the state now considers him a criminal.

When did he say the hearing is? Tomorrow?  How do I get to the courthouse?  I’ve never even had to go there before.  How does bail work?  Do I have to find a bail bondsman too?  Scenes from “Dog, the Bounty Hunter” race through your mind…

Your phone rings.  It’s a friend from church.  No way can you answer it.  What would you even say?   You’ll never be able talk to her again, you’ll never be able to show your face at church again.  As panic rises inside you, you think of your small local business.  If the news of this gets out, what will happen to your business?  Nobody will want to shop in the store of the parent of that guy. The devastation that goes along with an accusation of a crime is massive - you’ve heard it a thousand times.  You imagine what Twitter and Facebook are going to be like now.

Back to your attorney search results.  You dial the first attorney, one of many conversations you’re going to have with attorneys over the coming days…