The Law Offices of Brad MacFee, Sr.

06/02/2024

Friends...

It's official, I am bad at posting information. I suppose being uber-busy, a blessing as it maybe, can also be a curse, in that it seems there is never time to reach out. That said, having been out for several weeks post-hip replacement, I really have no excuse for not taking the time to bring folks up to speed regarding new information.

As it's been a while, please forgive me if I repeat anything that's already been said.

first and foremost, you may have noted a change to the office address. That's because there is no more office address. COVID taught me many things, among which is that going to an office every day is unnecessary. Why pay for parking, rent and the aggravation of wasting 2 work hours each day sitting in traffic when anything that can be done at the office can be done from the comfort of home? Moreover, Zoom and electronic payments have made face to face meeting obsolete. While bad news for the commercial real estate market, expect more and more businesses to go this route in the future.

Second, while I am best known as a criminal defense attorney, and in fact, have been pigeon-holed as such, the fact is that I do as much personal injury work as possible. In furtherance of that effort, I have recently solicited the services of Tom Latona as the Case Manager for my personal injury practice. As a recent retiree after 33 years as a Claims Adjuster for Allstate, Tom has proven to be an invaluable asset to my p/i clients as they work together to navigate their claims.

Man cannot live by criminal cases alone. While we certainly hope you never find yourself in need of representation after an accident, should that unfortunate day come, please consider reaching out to us for help. The bottom line is that I have to keep Tom busy or he may actually figure out that retirement means he's not supposed to be working anymore!

On the family law front, while Kristal has moved on to greener pastures, we still represent folks experiencing separation from spouses and kids. While I enjoy immensely helping families prepare for and survive the changes divorce and child custody bring, I want to be honest and inform prospective clients that I am reluctant anymore to take on cases where clients prioritize their personal vendetta over the well-being of their children. That said, if you want what's best for your kids and just need some help getting there, feel free to give us a call.

As always, our criminal defense practice continues to hum, and will until i decide to hang em up for good. Among the many reasons why criminal defense work is such a passion is that so many people not only believe it shouldn't be, but can seem almost offended by the notion that there are lawyers willing to defend "criminals."

If only i had a nickel for every conversation where someone said to me, "how can you defend this one?" or "how can you defend that one?" or, "how can you sleep at night when you take money to defend this one or that one?"

It will come as no surprise to you that the vast majority of the people with those questions have never been in any type of criminal trouble, nor have they ever had a child, relative or loved one in trouble with the law. Those who have sing a different tune.

Let me give you a recent example of the precise reason I love this work and why it's so important. Last year I got a call from the mother of a young man that lived and worked in Carroll County. She explained that on a recent evening her son and 2 friends were driving home from an evening out. As her son/my client was driving his vehicle on Route 140, heading toward Westminster, he suddenly noticed that he was being pulled over by a police officer that had pulled behind him with his lights on. The stated reason for the stop....speeding.

My client, barely 20 years of age, immediately pulled over for the officer. The officer, having smelled ma*****na in the car, ordered my client out of the vehicle, and had him perform a battery of field sobriety tests that are designed to assist an office to determine the level, if any, of impairment and the ability of an driver to safely operate his or her vehicle.

It should be noted that my client had a medical-use card and admitted to smoking a small amount of ma*****na approximately an hour prior to the stop.

Long story short, not only did my client perform admirably, despite adverse weather and terrain, on the tests, but throughout the lengthy process he engaged the officer in rational discussion and even went so far to help the officer move his (my client's) car at the officer's request, citing the fact that he did no know how to drive a stick.

so, what do you thing "officer good judgment" did in light of the obvious lack of impairment having been displayed by my client? you guessed it, he locked his terrified little ass right up and charged him with a dui.

Fast forward to the trial date. I met with the prosecutor, asked him if he had reviewed the body-worn camera footage and told him i would be glad to plead my client to the speeding ticket, but it wouldn't get any better than that. The prosecutor rejected my generous offer, thereby necessitating a trial. I had a ball cross-examining the officer, during which i questioned his discretion and asked whether his job was to be a police officer, or a revenue agent for the state? Asked how, in light of my client's exceptional performance during testing, he could've exposed him to a conviction that could never be wiped from his record and could haunt him in various ways for the rest of his life, he said it was clear to him that my client wasn't able to safely operate his car.

Fortunately, but as expected, the Judge didn't see it that way. At the end of the trial, my client was convicted of speeding, but acquitted of all of the other charges. Officer friendly, who it seemed had never had his judgment questioned in the past, put his tail between his legs and left the courtroom.

A postscript to the story is that 2 weeks later I got a call from a man that had been stopped and charged with a dui in the exact same location, despite only blowing a .04, or less than half of the legal limit of .08. I immediately guessed the name of the arresting officer, and sure enough, it was our hero from the earlier case.

I called the prosecutor, referenced the earlier case and told him that if he didn't dismiss the case against my client, he and his officer would soon receive the same ass-whipping he got before. I suggested to the prosecutor that the officer, while not a "rogue" cop because lots of them behave this way, was certainly more interested in making money for the state and getting cookies from his boss that he is in doing his job, and he needs to be put in check.

The state dropped the charges against my client.

The moral of the story, as you no doubt know, is that you or one of your kids could be the next victim of this cop, or one like him. Should that happen, god forbid, you will feel exactly as these other poor souls felt, like you had been treated unfairly. Suddenly, you will want and in fact, need someone to defend you, and your low opinion of criminal defense attorneys will suddenly change, because now the "this one," or the "that one," will suddenly and unexpectedly be you.

Now, these are 2 dui cases. They're not murders or rapes, and I get that, but if you think alleged victims, cops and prosecutors don't lie and cheat and falsely accuse in bigger cases, I'm sorry to say it, but you're just naive.

So, have guilty people been acquitted? sure they have, just like innocent people have been convicted. That said, its the latter that cannot be tolerated, and must be avoided at all costs, and that's why I do this work.

OK friends, I've blathered on enough. I just wanted to bring everyone up to speed regarding the changes and to let everyone know that we are still alive and (relatively) well out here!

It's a sunny Sunday and the O's are up 2-0 on the Rays in the top of the 4th, so I hope you're enjoying your day as much as I am!

Many thanks for your continued trust, confidence and patronage,

Brad

05/14/2023

friends...

It's been quite awhile since my last post, and a general update is long overdue.

the last time i reached out, we were still in the throes of the pandemic. while the plague and associated shutdown has come to a merciful end, it has left a lasting impression on all of us. i'm hopeful that none of you or your loved ones were impacted too dramatically during that difficult time.

as rough as the pandemic was, staying at home during the shutdown taught me a few things. Possibly the biggest lesson is that i really don't need an expensive office to conduct my business. as a result, at the end of this month i will no longer occupy the space at 218 east lexington street. in fact, i will no longer occupy any space at all. during the pandemic and since, i learned that i can operate far more efficiently and provide superior service to my clientele without the need to travel 80 miles everyday to do the same work i can do from my home office, and the same goes for liz. logically, this decision has paid several expected dividends. first, the workday is actually longer due to the elimination of travel time, allowing us to get more done for our clients. as well, we no longer have to deal with the hassles associated with city parking, increasing rent and maintenance issues. most importantly, i have found that my clients seem to care less about the change as we are happy to meet them in their homes or the place of their choosing whenever necessary. finally, eliminating all of the overhead associated with maintaining an office allows me to save money, which allows me to keep fees down, so it not only a win for me, but more importantly, its a win for my clients!

as spring comes to an end and summer approaches, i hope this message finds you all well, enjoying the weather and planning for some summer rest and relaxation. in the meantime, if you need anything, feel free to give us a call, and as always, i'll either help you out or, if for some reason i cant, make sure to refer you to the best guy or girl to take care of you.

take care,

brad

that's the biggest news to pass on. otherwise, we continue to be very busy in and out of the courtroom. as a result, and in an effort to provide the best customer service possible, we've added an answering service to make sure we don't miss your calls during times when liz or i can't get to the phone. while we will \always try to get to your calls, if get the service, just leave a message and i will immediately get a text and an email, and will get back to you asap.

06/24/2022

it's been quite a while since i posted anything to the site, but rest assured that we are still grinding as hard as possible to take the best care of our family and criminal-defense clients.

in terms of recent news, i am ecstatic to report that since our last visit, kristal has been diagnosed with, and beat cancer. believe me when i tell you that her was no easy journey, and if you're facing a divorce or child custody issue, kristal is just the kind of tough as nails, battle-tested warrior you want in your corner!!

liz has taken, at the least, a sabbatical. in the meantime, brad, junior is taking a break from his won busy academic schedule. he will be running the office and will be available to help with all of your questions and concerns.

as you are all aware, the courts were closed for 16 months during the pandemic. during that time, 4,000 criminal cases were not scheduled for trial. as i have my fair share of those cases and the courts are once again operating at full capacity. my "chickens have come home to roost," and i find myself doing little else these days than trying cases.

one of those happened to be state v. donnell johnson. i had the pleasure of representing donnell in the retrial of his 2009 conviction on murder and handgun charges. he was convicted in 2009, but in 2021, a local judge vacated that conviction, finding that donnell's original trial counsel had been ineffective, and this he had been denied a fair trial.

fortunately for donnell, he has good friends that refused to give up hope. once he was granted the new trial, they hired me to retry the case, which we did last week.

we began on the 13th, and wrapped it up on the 15th. when the jury told the court after less than an hour of deliberations that they had a verdict, i knew he was about to be acquitted. sure enough, he was found not guilty of all charges and i watched as this man, who had quite literally been living in hell for the past 15 years, began to realize that within a few short hours he would be home with his family and friends and would be a free man.

if you've never seen a grown man literally melt and sob like a baby right in front of you, let me tell you, it'll have an impact. moments like this don't happen everyday and, while i've seen many happy clients over the years, rarely have i experienced this kind of response. to say it was gratifying would be a gross understatement.

anyway, i start yet another homicide trial tomorrow, so its time to cross some t's and dot some i's. in the meantime, this post was overdue.

i hope you're all enjoying your summer, the end of covid, and the return to some sense of a normal life. i'm grateful for all of that, and for all of you!

bm

06/20/2022

06/08/2021

The locations of all of the CitiWatch cameras in town. As you can see, there are a lot of them!

This dataset represents closed circuit camera locations capturing activity within 256ft (~2 blocks).

05/05/2020

SO, the last time I posted anything we were just beginning this odyssey that has become the reaction to COVID-19. I have to admit that at the time, I assumed this was something that was going to run it's course after 2 or 3 weeks and business would resume as usual.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I was very clearly wrong in my assumption.

At the time, I told you that we would remain up and running during the closures and stay at home orders, and we have. During this crisis, Liz has been at the office every day, including some time on the weekends, and Kristal and I have been in constant contact with her, but working remotely.

Under the circumstances, there is some information you should have in order to understand your current circumstances, or plan for the, what we hoe will only be, your immediate future. First, for family and friends of our clients with criminal issues. If you are incarcerated pending trial we have, in practically every case, filed a request with the court to review your pre-trial release status. How this is working is that we re filing the requests, they are going into the system, and the ladies in pre-trial services are scheduling them. While we have drafted and filed these requests very quickly, the current volume of these requests is, not to be dramatic, but staggering. As a result, it is taking the court a good bit of time in some instances to get them scheduled. As a result, your patience is appreciated. I can assure you that for the past 3-4 weeks, priority 1 for Liz has been to make regular calls to the court in an effort to get our clients onto the schedule.

Also impacting clients with pending criminal matters is the date on which the court is scheduled to reopen for jury trials. These decisions are being made by Mary Ellen Barbera, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, and essentially the head Judge in the entire state. As of today, the tentative reopening date for all courts is June 8, however that date is subject to change at any minute depending on the latest trend with regard to the virus. As of yesterday, the word was that, whenever the courts reopen, they will do so on a "staggered" basis, meaning that not all courts will reopen at the same time, and not all services will be restored at the same time. While I have no official word as of today, I can tell my criminal clients and their loved ones that i do not expect the courts to reopen for jury trial until August or September AT THE EARLIEST. This is the primary reason we are working as hard as possible to get our incarcerated people home.

On a final note, while the courts are letting many people out of jail in light of the circumstances, NOT ALL detainees are being released. There appears to be a misperception among many people that, because of the virus, every single detainee is going home to await trial. This is simply not true, and Judges are reviewing each matter on a case by case basis and only letting people go that meet the revised criteria for release.

As for our domestic and other clients with civil matters, we have a bit of a mess on our hands. Kristal and I are working overtime to keep abreast of the changes, which are coming fast and frequently. Suffice it to say that while things are a bit unclear, it appears that deadlines for filing are being extended in some cases, non-essential proceedings, like scheduling and settlement conferences are being rescheduled, and trial dates are being pushed back. Some hearings are being conducted either via Skype or by phone. To say that things are in flux and that there are currently no hard and fast rules would be an understatement.

In the event you read this and have any specific questions, either about your case or about things in general, feel free to either call us, or as your questions via this page. Regardless, we want you to know that we are sensitive to your needs, questions and anxieties during this unsure time, and are working to address all of that whether you make them known to us or not. In the meantime, like all of us, we want you to just hang in there, do the best you can and, most of all, stay safe and healthy.

The rest will (eventually) take care of itself.

03/22/2020

At the risk of being late to the party, Kristal, Liz and I want to let everyone know that as the COVID-19 scenario continues to play out we are, as we have always been, available to take care of your needs. The bottom line is that, on a day to day basis, you know as much as we do about the response to this situation and how it will affect us individually, as families, as groups, and as businesses. As such, we may be forced to an extent to modify how we deliver legal services until a resolution is reached, but make no mistake, while we may not be in the office, and while the courts may be closed, we are available by phone and we are available, to the extent you are comfortable, to meet with you at your homes or wherever in the community is accessible. In terms of our criminal practice we are, like everyone else, monitoring daily any restrictions on our ability to enter jails and prisons. To this point we have been making regular visits to inmates, and will continue unless and until we are prohibited from doing so. We are also, while primarily working from our homes, continuing to draft and file necessary documents on behalf of our clients. While we cannot predict when these issues will be addressed by the courts, or when those proceedings that have been postponed will be rescheduled, we are addressing necessary paperwork responsibilities as per usual.

Obviously, we are all going through an unsettling and inconvenient time right now. While I believe that business as usual will resume in the near future, in the meantime you should know that our clients and their families are in our thoughts, we hope you are all physically and financially safe and sound, and we look forward to seeing you and working with you again very soon.

02/01/2020

You've all probably heard that sage advice that says if you write something when you're angry, don't send it for a couple of days, then go back and erase it completely, or at least wait until you're calm and revise it before sending it. In my mind, these are probably words to live by.

That said, I just got off the phone with a parent of a client of mine, and I am not pleased. This individual will of course, remain unnamed, but suffice it to say that, possible mental health issues aside, he came at me in a manner that made it clear that he is completely unaware of the law and completely unaware, as possibly he should be, regarding the effort that has been put into his son's case. After all, he is not my client and is thus entitled to nothing. Despite this, he approached me from the position of an authority, incorrectly citing the laws as well as the facts. I was not pleased with his tone.

Now I am going to say something that may make you think twice about hiring me. I love my clients and their families and I am respectful to, and patient with them. That said, just because a client or a family member pays my fee does not mean that they have bought the right to speak to me any way they see fit, nor does hiring me result in a waiver by me of my right to free speech under the 1st Amendment. As this gentleman quickly learned, this is a right that I value greatly, and use liberally.

So, if you ever call me, as this devoutly Muslim man did, and refer to me as "a dirty Jew," ( I was raised Catholic), you should expect to receive, as this man did, quite an earful. In short, I blasted him about as badly as I could. I told him how stupid I thought he was. I told him how he was ill-equipped intellectually to question my strategy or practices. When he raised the issue of slavery, I suggested to him that I've never had a slave and that, at least personally, I have never tried to keep him or anyone else oppressed. I reminded him that he had actually been present and observed some of the very things he was accusing me of failing to do, which made his diatribe even more bizarre. I suggested that if he and his friends are so sharp, they should feel free to step in and take over for me with the representation of his son. In short, I told him off, not once, but the 2 times he called back as well.

When he pulled the classic, but tired "grievance card," I offered to give him the number and help him write the complaint. Some people believe this threat is somehow intimidating. it is not.

The fact that I work alone is not an accident. To be blunt, I do not take guff from anyone....ever. If people find that offensive, or if they are completely sold on the whole "PC" movement, they should probably look for another lawyer because, client or not, I will not hesitate to call you out if you deserve it. Lawyer, Doctor, Janitor, Teacher, whomever....everyone deserved to be treated civilly. Approach me in any other way, and do not be surprised if you are quickly and bluntly put in your place. If that moves you to end our professional relationship, its a free country and I will not lose a single minute of sleep. Frankly, I am too busy helping people with sense to worry about those that are completely lacking any.

So, what should you expect when you come to me for assistance? You should expect what I have always delivered to my clients....extremely zealous advocacy and to be treated at all times with respect and gratitude for your trust in me. What you should never do, however, is mistake that kindness for weakness. We all know the golden rule, and I strive to live by it every day, just please understand that, if for some reason that line is crossed, the 1st Amendment is a powerful tool.

11/13/2019

I cannot think of too many things more important that serving on a jury. As well, I can think of very few things more harmful, and frankly more disgusting, than failing to discharge the duty of being a juror without regard for the law or the juror's oath.

By way of example, I recently represented a black man that had been charged with murder in Washington County. The allegation against my client were that he and another man were passengers in a car being driven by a woman. The state believed that my client shot and killed the woman, and that the 2nd passenger, who was the state's star witness, was not involved and was nothing more than a witness.

That was their version, and regardless of the evidence, they were sticking to it. But back to the jury issue.

We all know that every criminal defendant is entitled to be judged by a "jury of his peers." As such, my first jury-related concern arose when I realized that the pool of people from which I would have to pick my jury was overwhelmingly white and over 40 years of age. Not only did this group consist of very few, if any "peers" of my client, but I was immediately concerned about the potential that racial bias might play a role in the case?

Ultimately, my client's jurors would consist of 11 white men and women, most of whom were 40 years of age and up, and 1 black woman. While my experience and common sense told me I should be worried about the makeup of the jury, I hoped that the jurors would take their oaths seriously and do their duty in strict accordance with the instructions that I knew they would received from the Court.

As it turns out, my concerns were well-founded.

I tried the case to conclusion and after a week it was handed to the jury for deliberations. As is often the case during the deliberation process, jurors will send written questions to the Court seeking clarification on issues about which they are confused. In this case, the first question was whether the defendant "could be convicted of 2nd degree murder if we do not believe that he shot the victim." I found this question both interesting and disturbing. It was interesting because it implied that the jury was at least considering the possibility that it was the other passenger, and not my client, that had murdered the victim, in which case he could not be convicted under the state's theory of the case. It was disturbing because it implied that they were looking for a way to convict him that was completely contrary to the state's theory and the evidence. In response to the question, the Judge opted to simply re-read the jury instruction on 2nd degree murder.

As time went by, some of the jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked, while others stated that given more time, they felt that they could reach a unanimous verdict. the Judge ordered them to return the following week and continue their deliberations.

The following Tuesday the jurors resumed deliberating and, before too long, asked another, very similar question. This time they asked "whether or not the defendant can be convicted of 1st or 2nd degree murder if we do not believe that he shot the victim?" The short and easy answer was "no," but the Judge responded by reading them a new jury instruction that they hadn't been given before, the instruction on accomplice liability.

Apparently, this gave the jurors the angle they were looking for to be able to convict my client with no regard whatsoever for the applicable law or the evidence presented in the case. Ten minutes after receiving that instruction, the jury convicted my client of 2nd degree murder, yet found him not guilty of 1st degree murder and, most interestingly, not guilty of possessing a handgun or any of the other weapons charges he was facing.

This is where the jury train obviously left the track.

Ask yourself this, how can 12 people with any brains whatsoever unanimously convict a man of shooting a woman twice in the head, killing her, yet be acquit him of being in possession of the gun that they must have believed he used to kill her?

The answer is as easy as it is disgusting.

According to the jury forelady, who agreed to talk with me before leaving the courthouse, several of the jurors appeared to be, at least in her opinion, racists. She claimed that several of them stated before even beginning to deliberate, that my client was guilty. They stated their belief that he was part of the criminal element that had contributed to the gradual decline of Washington County, and Hagerstown in particular, and thus they were justified in getting rid of him, regardless of whether not he was guilty of this particular crime, regardless of the law they were instructed by the court to obey and regardless of the evidence that was presented in the case.

That is why they didn't even bother to consider the lunacy of their verdict. They literally convicted a man of killing a woman with a gun that, according to their verdict, he did not possess and he did not use to kill her! This is what is commonly referred to as a "compromise verdict." A compromise verdict occurs when jurors want to get the process over and done with, but the majority can't get the minority to agree unanimously, so what they do is ask the minority, "hey, if we agree to find him not guilty of the most serious charge, convict him of the next most serious charge and acquit him of everything else, will you agree to come along quietly so we can all go home?" In this case the answer was, unfortunately, "yes."

Naturally, this was a complete violation of the oath they took to judge the case fairly, without regard to race or sympathy, and based strictly on the basis of the evidence. During our discussion, the forelady admitted that despite agreeing on the record that she agreed with the verdict, in fact she did not agree. Rather, she simply caved to the pressure being applied to her by 11 people with more interest in getting the process over with than with doing there gravely important job as jurors in a criminal case. To say that what these people did was reprehensible would be a gross understatement. Frankly, I can think of almost nothing worse. I have no idea how these people sleep at night, knowing that they did what they did in violation of every law, rule and oath that applied to the process.

Oddly, I have never served on a jury. I hope that if I ever do, I will take the job far more seriously than did my "friends" in Hagerstown.

11/13/2019

The Law Office of Brad MacFee, is proud and pleased to welcome Kristal Miller, our new Associate. Kristal will be primarily handling family law matters, including divorce, child custody, adoption, etc.. Kristal will also be helping clients with their estate matters, including wills and trusts. Anyone having any needs in these areas may contact Kristal by calling the office at 410-825-5255, or by reaching out to Kristal directly at 443-939-9390.