Steven H Malone

I retained Mr. Malone to handle my direct appeal to the FSC and to handle my 3.850 against my trial lawyer. My original trial lawyer got me convicted of sexual battery due to his lack of preparation and incompetence. Mr. Malone even stated that my case was the worst case of ineffective assistance o...f counsel he had seen in all of his years of practice. When I retained him for the 3.850, he told me that he would handle all of the subsequent appeals should my situation get dragged out through the FL court process (he was true to his word). I paid him a flat fee for his service (his charging rate seems to always be 20 and 10). My case has been a complete abortion in FL and I am now having to take this to the Federal level with a Habeas. I have had 3 attorneys through this process and when you look at their performance or read their work you can see a noticeable difference in their abilities. Steve and I have had our battles with each other but now that I can sit back and look at the last 3 years of his representation, I can attribute most of that to frustration with the corrupt FL court system and not Mr. Malone as an attorney. He is a stand up guy who honored his commitment to me even though I have yet to get this case turned around (the Feds will get that done). The fact that the state of Florida refuses to correct its error in my case is not a reflection of Malone or the work he did (direct appeal to FSC, 3.850 brief, 2 evidentiary hearings, 3.850 DCA appeal, 3.850 FSC appeal). Mr. Malone tends to want to communicate through email. If I have one complaint of him it is that he is not telephone cordial. I'm not saying he is outright rude but when you call him, he seems to only have 1/2 of his attention directed at you while he is multitasking with other things. That is extremely annoying!! He also has a tendency to rush the conversation so he can get off the phone. Our personalities are very different. I am an in your face kick you in the balls kind of guy when I have been wronged. Malone is a more reserved. He is not the kind of lawyer that wants to drive off the pavement and try to establish a new precedent. He would rather stick to tried and true arguments so if you are looking for someone who can create a new dirt road, he might not be your driver. I consider him a friend of sorts after all we have been through. I am certain that if I had to call him for something else at this point, he would oblige and offer his advice. Most attorneys want you to put a dollar in their mouth before the ride would get started. Steve has never treated me that way. Even though I have offered some critique to my experience (that is what a review does), I would recommend him as a lawyer when handling post conviction issues.