James Johnston Bell

I requested the services of Mr. Bell following an accusation for DUI. During the 6 month process I was repeatedly let down by Mr. Bell and his team. My case was unique since I was not actually driving when the police arrived and eventually arrested me. I petitioned for a hardship license so I could d...rive to and from work during the proceedings, with the help of Mr. Bell's assistant. On the day of the hearing, I was informed by the judge that under Indiana law, a hardship license cannot be granted if your license has ever been suspended which mine had been 6 years prior for something unrelated. Not only was time wasted on attending and preparing for this hearing, but several thousand dollars were wasted in preparing the petition and paying court costs. I was not able to drive during the entire court proceeding which left me with a decision, be unable to drive for up to another 6 months while the trial was conducted or plead guilty and immediately receive my driving privileges back. Mr. Bell's advice was unclear as he gave pros and cons of each situation but one thing stood out. Mr. Bell's last piece of advice was "you don't want to look back on this situation in 10 years and regret being a cheap ass," pointing me towards spending more money to take the case to trial that he didn't even have confidence in. It seemed very unprofessional to have a seasoned defense attorney say something like that while giving legal counsel. I ultimately decided to plead guilty as I wasn't confident that a trial would be successful especially considering Mr. Bell said my chances were 50/50 if the case went to trial. I have never had need for legal counsel until this point so I have no frame of reference on if this is normally the kind of experience someone has with a defense attorney but the services provided by Mr. Bell and his team seemed inadequate as well as unprofessional. In the unfortunate event that I need defense counsel again, I will not be choosing Mr. Bell.