The need for an attorney that handles legal malpractice cases may not be readily apparent – until you realize that you need to sue your criminal defense attorney for negligently handling your criminal case. Perhaps your criminal defense attorney failed to properly investigate your case, allowing you to remain in jail when you should have been set free. Perhaps your criminal defense lawyer failed to have the prosecution drop the charges against you when you should not have been arrested in the first place. In these certain types of cases, you may be entitled to sue your criminal defense attorney for legal malpractice.

Our Forefather’s built America upon certain fundamental principles that were groundbreaking and revolutionary for their time. These fundamental, Constitutional principles are no less important today than they were when they were first inked in 1787.

One of the most important rights that Americans enjoy stems from the Fifth Amendment guarantee that no person “shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This Constitutional Amendment is often taken for granted – that is, until you find yourself on the wrong side of the law, sitting in a jail cell for a crime you did not commit. And while the American justice system is the finest in the world, negligent mistakes happen – mistakes that could be avoided if your criminal defense attorney properly investigated your criminal case.

Criminal defense lawyers in Florida can be held liable for legal malpractice if they fail to properly investigate a criminal charge. For example, in Rowell v. Holt, 850 So.2d 474 (Fla. 2003), John Rowell sued his Public Defender for legal malpractice after his attorney failed to provide evidence to the State Attorney’s Office that would have secured his immediate release from custody. Mr. Rowell spent two weeks in jail before his lawyer submitted the proper documentation to the prosecutor, which proved that Mr. Rowell should not have been arrested. The criminal defense attorney committed legal malpractice because he had been in possession of this documentation for nearly two weeks, but failed to do anything – leaving Mr. Rowell to sit in jail.

A Florida jury found that the criminal attorney for Mr. Rowell was negligent in committing legal malpractice which caused Mr. Rowell to suffer damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering. After all, his attorney’s failure to do his job caused Mr. Rowell to sit in jail for two weeks – clearly an infringement upon Mr. Rowell’s pursuit of life, liberty, and property. As such, a jury awarded Mr. Rowell $16,500.00 for the brief period of time that he wrongfully remained in custody.

If you want to sue your criminal defense attorney for failing to properly investigate your case, call the Florida legal malpractice attorneys at The Ison Law Group at 863-712-9475 or 855-LAW-1215.