Category Archives: Crime

The Judge is in Jail

01/16/2015 BowTieLawyer 2 Comments

A former Chancery Court Judge in Mississippi is on his way to Prison.

http://davidgaleuk.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/judge-in-jail.jpg

Joe Dale Walker, former Chancellor over Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson and Smith counties, plead Guilty in October for his on-the-bench conduct.

Federal charges included that he instructed a federal grand jury witness to destroy documents and then lied to FBI agents about it.

According to the FBI, Walker directed an attorney (the witness) he had appointed for a Conservatorship to solicit bids for the construction of a home for the ward. Of the bids obtained, one was from the Judge’s nephew. The Judge reviewed the bids in his office and instructed his nephew to increase his bid. Walker then transferred the case to the other Judge in the district for the limited purpose of accepting and approving the bid because of his nephew’s involvement. After the contract was awarded to Walker’s nephew, the case was transferred back to Walker by the second Judge.

Walker, knowing that a Grand Jury subpoena was outstanding for information concerning the bidding process, spoke with the witness about instructing his nephew to increase his bid and the original bid and any existing copies.

When interviewed by the FBI, Walker denied talking with the witness about his nephew’s bids and denied telling the witness that the original low bid needed to be “somewhere else.”

Walker was sentenced to 5 months in prison. His nephew was likewise sentenced to 5 months in prison and 5 months home confinement.

“Don’t do the Crime, if you can’t do the Time” – Detective Anthony Vincenzo “Tony” Baretta

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law FirmYou may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Child Custody, Crime, divorce, General Legal, Marriage, Pets

It’s NOT the Lawyer’s Fault that You Don’t See Your Kids

01/12/2015 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

But, for that d@#^lawyer!

I hear this a lot. “My life was great until my lying ex and her d@#^ Attorney messed it all up!”

Right.

It was all peachy until you;

Had an Affair; or
Physically Assaulted Your Spouse; or
Habitually Abused Illegal Drugs; or
Threatened Physical Violence; or
Took Your Children and Refused to Return Them or Disclose Their Location; or
Refused to Support Your Family; or
All of the Above, and then some…

Is life fair? Certainly NOT. Do your actions directly impact the quality of that life? You better believe it. So maybe your lying ex and her d@#^ attorney are NOT totally to blame.

Do What has Been Ordered of You
Be the Best Parent you Can be
Don’t Threaten, Harass, or Make False Allegations

Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody Litigation Attorney in Mississippi and believes that you reap what you sow.

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law Firm

You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@BowTieLawyer.ms

Crime, divorce, Property Division

Changing the Locks!

01/05/2015 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Can I Change the Locks?

The old ‘Can I change the locks?’ question is in the top 5 of divorce questions. Today you get an Answer.

Yes. You can change the locks if it’s your house. If you are purchasing the home, or leasing or renting the abode, apartment, condo or camping trailer you can change the locks. But, there’s more…

What if he changes the locks on me? You can let yourself in if it’s your house. If you are purchasing the home, or leasing or renting the abode, apartment, condo or camping trailer you can let yourself in.

What does ‘let yourself in‘ mean? Exactly as it sounds. If you have a copy of the deed or lease agreement a locksmith will let you in for a fee, or you can break the window and let yourself in.

You cannot break into your own house.*

So, I can change the locks, but it may not keep him out? Correct.

How do I keep him out? Get a Court Order(a blog for another day).

(*Unless there is a Court Order awarding one party exclusive use, or if it is NOT your house.)

Matthew Thompson is a divorce attorney in Mississippi and knows a great locksmith.

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law Firm

You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@BowTieLawyer.ms

Child Custody, Crime, divorce, General Legal, Marriage

Mic Test: “Testing 1, 2, 3…”: Recording in Divorce- Good, Bad & Ugly

12/10/2014 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Recording Fever has swept the divorce world, at least, since the 1980s.

Recordings set the record straight, right? It’s incontrovertible proof that so-and-so said what-they-said on any given date. It’s right there on tape…

Not so fast. First of all is it legal where you are? States have differing laws on recordings. Generally, in this state, recording is legal so long as one person to the conversation is aware that it is being recorded. However, this is not the case in every state and some require all parties know and consent.

Secondly, is the recording a set-up? There have been instances where a spouse (or ex-spouse) intentionally created circumstances where the other spouse would “blow up.” Under these circumstances your recording may get you in more trouble than it’s worth.

Third, is the recording complete and unaltered? Recordings can be edited. They can certainly be manipulated. Recordings must be authenticated, complete and relevant to be considered admissible.

Fourth, is it as valuable as you think? I know a Judge whose opinion is “You need to be focusing on parenting and communicating with the other parent rather than recording every interaction…“

Recordings, either audio or video or both, may well be legal, legitimate, complete and valuable, but it could easily be illegal, under false circumstances, incomplete and of no value. Discuss the laws regarding recordings and admissibility with your attorney.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and warns clients of the possibility of surveillance and recordings, reminding them to say and do things they do NOT mind being played back in Court.

You may contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000

Child Custody, Crime, divorce, Marriage, Opinion

How Do You Tell When a Lawyer is Lying?

12/09/2014 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

“His lips are moving.”

Perjury has been blogged about.

Never lie. (PERJURY) You will get caught. The truth is easy to remember. Remember, usually, it’s not the crime but the cover-up that gets you. The very affluent husband, with a great job, testified that he was unsure of his income, but knew his expenses down to the penny. He testified under oath that his expenses exceeded his income by over $10,000 per month. The problem? He had no debt. This situation of making $10,000 less than he was spending had been going on for months, if not years, but he always made payroll, carried no debt, had no loans and could not explain how this could be. Perhaps he had a money tree out back.

Lying to your kids has, as well.

It never fails. One of the aggrieved parties to a divorce tells the dirty details to the child regarding the other parent. This is never appropriate or “ok.” Never. Never to a young child. What about when….? No. Never.

But that parent, with their righteous indignation tells me, or testifies, “I do NOT lie to my child?” My response? “Well, what about the Tooth Fairy?“

The Top 5 Lies of Divorce clients are here.

5. Lies about Income.

4. Lies about their role within the Home.

3. Lies about Other Marital Fault.

2. Lies about Value$.

1. Lies about Adultery.

Matthew Thompson is a Divorce Attorney in Mississippi and encourages potential clients to tell your lawyer the truth!

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Crime, General Legal, Opinion

“Thomas Jefferson” Disbarred

11/24/2014 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Kansas Attorney Dennis Hawver has been disbarred due to “inexplicable incompetence!”

Hawver committed a number of blunders throughout the case, among them include;

At trial, Hawver described his client a “professional drug dealer” and a “shooter of people,”
Hawver argued at trial that his client would never have left a witness alive if he had shot the two women victims.
Hawver did not investigate alibi witnesses and did not track his client’s cellphone to find his location at the time of the murders.

His explanation? “I had no idea that cellphones had GPS capabilities at that time,” he said. “Did you? I didn’t. If I had known it, I’d have been on it like a dog on a bone.”

Hawver had never previously tried a capital murder case and had not tried a murder case in more than 20 years.
He was unfamiliar with ABA guidelines for trying capital murder cases.
He informed the jury his client had previously been convicted of voluntary manslaughter, even though prosecutors agreed to a stipulation that the client had a prior felony conviction without further details.
He failed to seek dismissal of the capital charge after the Kansas Supreme Court struck down the death penalty scheme.
Hawver had said he had no funds for a pretrial investigation and he did not call the indigent defense board to explore whether funding was available to support his representation.
He also said he did not recall whether a board representative had called him with an offer to provide co-counsel, investigators, consultants and expert witnesses, but he does not contest that an offer of funding was made.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, he said the killer should be executed.

During the arguments concerning attorney discipline, Hawver named Thomas Jefferson as his hero and says he wore the outfit because he had a constitutional right to represent the client “as directed, instructed and agreed” by the client, “no matter what the ABA guidelines have to say.”

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Family Law Attorney and advises all potential clients that if your attorney dresses as a Founding Father for Court it is time for a new attorney.

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Child Custody, Child Support, Crime, Opinion, Visitation

How NOT to Hire an Attorney.

11/11/2014 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but don’t take things too far..

A recent Craigslist add was seeking to raise funds via a non-traditional manner. Organ sales. However, this is not your grandmother’s musical instrument. The ad stated, in part;

I am a healthy active 37yr old, 6′ tall white man of strong european bloodline. I am drug a disease free and have two healthy kidneys and all I have left to sell is one of them. I have been going through custody battles for the last 4 years and am flat tapped out of money and property left to sell. My son is my one true love and his mother wont be happy or stop lying until Im out of the picture and she is being helped by a devious liar of an attorney. I wont give up on my son and am willing to do what it takes to stand up for him. I have to give my attorney some money and this is all I can come up with. I am employed and have a job I love, but I need to lay down thousands of dollars at this point, attornies are not cheap. Please help. Call ****** ***-***-**** ALL EMAILS WILL BE DELETED. Thanks.

I do NOT know if the above is legit or not and I assume it is not. Sacrificing your health and potentially your life is not the way to “win” custody. Also, organ sales are illegal in the U.S. The National Organ Transplant Act (1984 Pub.L. 98–507), approved October 19, 1984 and amended in 1988 and 1990, outlawed the sale of human organs and provided for the establishment of the Task Force on Organ Transplantation; authorized the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants for the planning, establishment, and initial operation of qualified Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs); and established the formation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

Don’t sell your organs to hire or pay for your attorney. There are other solutions if you are completely tapped-out, but this ain’t it. Read about options if you cannot afford an attorney here.

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Family Law attorney and cautions those in legal situations, not to make their circumstances worse.

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms