Upate page 3:LONG:Need Legal Advice, or any kind of advice would be welcome!!

[TeresaNJ]

Kristen, we are responsible for the lawyer's fees. Thomas has absolutely nothing, so we'd just be wasting our money. As far as why we hired an attorney, we want our son represented well in court. Camden doesn't have the most scrupulous public servants sorry to say, and since we have absolutely no experience with this, I wanted someone standing with us who did. Thank you all for your continued advice and good wishes.

 

[TeresaNJ]

ca859093, I guess I'm just confused. I was under the assumption that if you presented a fake ID to the police they would be able to run it and see that it is a fake driver's license.

 

[barkley]

kind of off topic, and you may already be aware of this but-just as an fyi-if your son does apply for and is granted ssi it does not preclude him from ever working. while the idea behind ssi is that the recipient is totaly disabled and unable to work, there are provisions in the program that allow a recipient to try and work (and the program is encouraging that people try to).

i had several clients (and friends) whose disablity was such that they truly wanted to try and work, but were very limited in what they could do (some with anxiety or depression such that they started out realy well but the normal pressures of the jobs would ultimatly make it impossible to continue, or they could only work VERY limited and sporadic periods of time).

best of luck to you and you son-i hope they throw the book at the other guy.

 

[kristen821]

Kristen, we are responsible for the lawyer's fees. Thomas has absolutely nothing, so we'd just be wasting our money. As far as why we hired an attorney, we want our son represented well in court. Camden doesn't have the most scrupulous public servants sorry to say, and since we have absolutely no experience with this, I wanted someone standing with us who did. Thank you all for your continued advice and good wishes.

I would want a lawyer too. It just stinks that you guys are stuck with the bill when Thomas should some how have to pay for it weather it is making payments or whatever. But, you are better off with an attorney then without.

 

[ducklite]

You can't sue the police officer if he was acting within the letter of the law, which in this case it sounds like he was.

You can't sue Thomas, what are you going to get out of it?

What you need to do is contact a lawyer who can help cut through the red tape and advise about a possible name change.

If your son isn't driving and has no plans on it, and his license has expired, then have him go to DMV and just "cancel" it and get a state issued ID card for himself. That way if Thomas tries that one again, he'll get hauled in for driving without a license.

And if it was me, and I got a summons for a crime I wasn't at all involved in, I'd be calling the court clerk in the morning and telling them that I had my identity stolen by Thomas in the past--look up the court records, and that I wasn't going to waste my time or energy dealing with it any further. Come get me, and better have the DA there to be served with false imprisonment papers by my lawyer. But I hate courts, school districts and authority figures in general, so that's just me.

Seriously, time for a lawyer. I know a few decent ones who deal with criminal law, let me know if you want a referral. (One has Saturday morning office hours and will deal with the client via e-mail if that's better for your son.)

One thing the lawyer can do is pressure the DA to look into this mess and possibly have Thomas picked up for identity theft, criminal impersonation, and obstruction of justice. At this point the gloves are off. Or you could just shoot him. (Just kidding...maybe )

Anne

 

[ducklite]

kind of off topic, and you may already be aware of this but-just as an fyi-if your son does apply for and is granted ssi it does not preclude him from ever working. while the idea behind ssi is that the recipient is totaly disabled and unable to work, there are provisions in the program that allow a recipient to try and work (and the program is encouraging that people try to).

i had several clients (and friends) whose disablity was such that they truly wanted to try and work, but were very limited in what they could do (some with anxiety or depression such that they started out realy well but the normal pressures of the jobs would ultimatly make it impossible to continue, or they could only work VERY limited and sporadic periods of time).

best of luck to you and you son-i hope they throw the book at the other guy.

This is good advice. My son has been advised a few times to apply for SSDI based on his Dx, but for now he's working in a job that he likes and is able to do, so no need. SSDI does allow for a certain amount of earned income before benefits are reduced.

Anne

 

[kristen821]

Do we know that he has a fake ID. Maybe he claims he doesn't have an ID on him and then gives her sons name. I've been pulled over and forgot my purse. They asked my name and address and let me go. That may be what Thomas did.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Anne, I did hire a lawyer, see my previous posts right before yours. Thanks for the advice. We're going to do everything we can to see that Thomas does not do this again, to my son or anyone. As far as the SSI goes, somehow in my head I feel like it is giving up. I'm afraid that my son will see it as that I have no faith that he is going to get better. He's been doing everything he can to come up with making some money. When he was doing better a few years ago he was an assistant manager at a video game franchise. He collected quite a few things, and has sold some on Ebay. I hate for him to give up his collectibles, but when he wanted a new tv he decided to sell some. Since he rarely emerges from his room, he is pretty adept at online xbox tournaments, nothing for money, but the tournaments are heading that way. His ranking is pretty high, and he is working with a team, so there may be something in that. He did manage to go to a tournament in Philly for the day last summer, with his ex-boss and a few former co-workers, that was a major achievement for him to go. Something that attributed to his anxiety about driving, which happened almost six years ago, is that he and his best friend were in a car accident, they both survived the accident, but my son's best friend, Dennis, who was driving, got out of the car but couldn't bear weight on his leg, so wasn't able to walk away from the car. My son was standing on the side of the road when another car came flying up and hit Dennis, throwing him in the air and broke his neck, killing him instantly. Things went more downhill after that as far as my son's anxiety went. He virtually stopped driving then.

 

[tink2020]

I just wanted to offer you unequivical support, with no debate. I can't imagine how horrible this is, and I would be a wreck. Much luck to you and your son.

Well put, and I'd like to echo my sentiments. At this point it seems you (OP) have the advice you were looking for, and you are moving forward as most people have suggested. I have nothing else to say except that I you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers that this subsides quickly and peacefully. Please keep us posted.

 

[Kramer]

Kristen, we are responsible for the lawyer's fees. Thomas has absolutely nothing, so we'd just be wasting our money. As far as why we hired an attorney, we want our son represented well in court.

You could have resolved this without an attorney and saved a lot of money. The state has the burden to prove that it was your son they charged with a crime and the finger prints and mug shot would not have matched your son. You laid out a lot money for something you could have cleared up on your own.


You could have gotten the ball rolling by making the identity theft report before the court date and then gone to court to meet with the prosecutor. Unfortunately this type of identity theft is not uncommon and the prosecutor would have known to contact the officer to verify it was your son who was arrested. Then they would have just dismissed the case. At worst, you could have tried to speak to the prosecutor on your own and if they wouldn't resolve it to your satisfaction then you are entitled to ask for an adjournment to retain an attorney.

I know you went with what you are comfortable with, but I hate to see someone spend $3000 on something they could have done without an attorney.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Kramer, what if they didn't finger print Thomas or take a mug shot? I'm not sure what transpired, I don't even know the date the event took place. All we have is the summons to appear in court. This whole thing has me completely confused. I don't know if Thomas was driving, was a passenger, was even in a car. All I know is that he has done this twice in one year. I guess I don't trust that I would do everything correctly that needs to be done. I know it is alot of money, but honestly, having an attorney involved makes my son feel better, so that is worth it alone to me. I have absolutely no experience with courts, summons, etc., as you have pointed out a few times, LOL, so I don't trust myself to handle it. The other issue is that we are leaving at 4am tomorrow morning for Disney to take my other son there for his birthday. It is a terrible time to be away, but we've already spent so much money on the trip. Knowing that the lawyer is handling everything makes it a little easier to be away. Man, this stinks.

 

[kristen821]

most likely he wasn't fingerprinted or even taken into custody. He probably was asked his name and address and gave your sons. You might want to call the arresting police department and get a copy of the police report to satisfy your own curiosity.

 

[EthansMom]

Just a question, but could you have a "Fraud Alert" put on DS's name so that the next time the friend gets picked up and gives the wrong name, the police will know to not believe him? I would contact the police department to see if such a thing can be done in your state.