John Harper Goots

Most unresponsive do nothing lawyer ever. Was appointed as my court appointed lawyer. I was in jail for a misdemeanor failure to appear that carried a maximum penalty of ten days in jail. Court date was scheduled for 3 weeks after his appointment as my lawyer. He never called my fiance despite half... a dozen messages left pleading for a call back. Mr Goot took it upon himself to request a continuance that I never asked for and was dead set against. New date was 4 weeks out. I repeatedly asked my fiance to contact Goots office to get a bond hearing. These requests were completely ignored. Finally the court date arrived after 7.5 weeks of incarceration. Mr. Goots never came to see me. I never even saw him until court and even then he never spoke a single syllable to me. He did have his secretary snail mail a generic letter 2 weeks after his appointment to my case in which it was stated he would schedule a visit as I was incarcerated. A hollow promise. He entered a no contest plea without consulting me. The judge asked for documentation that could have easily been at his fingertips had he spoken with me in advance or prepared at all. Goots ran out of the room still having never spoken to me. He called my fiance and gave inaccurate information as to the outcome of the hearing. I found out 6 hours after court that Goots couldn't get the necessary documentation and I was convicted in absentia and given 10 days which were all suspended. So I spent 53 days in jail for nothing and have to pay court costs which include his fees for legal services never rendered. Completely unprofessional attorney not worth the cost of the paper his business card is printed on. Well that's an assumption on my part as I never even saw one of his business cards.