Blaise Gerard Baker

I met Mr. Baker at the consultation, and that was the last real conversation I ever had with him. He would send form letters to let me know of court appearances, long after I had already found out about it online. I would have questions, never having been in trouble with the law before, nothing I w...ould think were a waste of his time to answer. When do I get a copy of the police report, for instance. He became increasingly agitated, saying I just had to trust him and not worry, which was almost impossible as the charges were serious. I found out online that the trial was going to jury and called him, even though I knew he didn't like that. What will happen, what questions will they ask me, etc. The two minute conversation ended with him actually yelling "bye" to me while I was still talking and hanging up. I walked into the courtroom in utter despair. I had found out for myself what the sentence could be, and did not have a clue what Mr. Baker had planned. When he arrived I could tell by the look on his face he had forgotten everything. We hadn't spoken in so long, I had to answer questions I really felt he should have known walking in there. I am so thankful that the judge allowed me a chance to speak in my defense, as Mr. Baker did no more than the defense attorneys I had watched while I was waiting. I could tell by the judge's face that I was indeed giving some information that was very pertinent to my case, and feel the sentence would have been much harsher had I relied on my lawyer to say what I had said. I even held up physical evidence that didn't seem to matter to Mr. Baker, proof of what I have been doing since my arrest to turn my live around. And amazingly, near the end of my speech my own lawyer snickered at me, as if I had said something stupid. To be in the legal system and looking at serious punishment is a nightmare for anyone. But I feel Mr. Baker made an already stressful situation unbearable. I felt alone, in the dark, helpless, and doomed the whole time. It was shockingly unprofessional and worse, terribly insensitive way to be treated.