Joshua Marc Mastison

My experience left me without confidence in my representation. The State’s initial offer was one year of corrections suspended to one year of reporting probation, plus 60 hours of community service. I explained that I wasn’t opposed to resolving the case, but the conditions presented serious prac...tical difficulties. I work 55–60+ hours per week in an underground coal mine, rotating every two weeks between day and night shifts, and receive only one PTO day per month. That limited PTO will ultimately have to be used, at least in part, for probation reporting. Adding 60 hours of community service on top of my work and reporting obligations makes satisfactory compliance extremely challenging. I therefore asked whether we could get non-reporting probation and little or no community service. Even if we couldn’t i at least expected an attempt to negotiate, I wasn’t asking for a guarantee—I simply wanted my attorney to advocate for an arrangement I could realistically comply with. His response was essentially that this was what the State offered and they weren’t going to do non-reporting probation. When I asked if there was anything else we could do, rather than discussing alternatives or a possible counteroffer, he asked, “So you want me to set it for trial?” He then warned that if we went to trial and things didn’t go my way, I could potentially spend a year incarcerated. I understand that an attorney should explain the risks of trial. What concerned me was how quickly the conversation went from my asking whether workable terms could be negotiated to trial and potential incarceration. The conversation itself was also handled in a manner I found extremely unprofessional. He didn’t pull me aside to discuss my case privately. We were standing approximately 10–12 feet apart in an open courtroom at points discussing my criminal case, employment circumstances and potential sentence where others could hear us. I found that embarrassing and unnecessary. I also had serious concerns regarding the preparation of my defense. To my knowledge, he had not even requested the surveillance footage concerning the alleged incident. When someone’s liberty is potentially at stake, I believe it’s reasonable to expect readily identifiable evidence to at least be investigated. After having time to consider everything, I asked whether reporting probation could possibly be changed to non-reporting over time if I accepted the agreement. He then told me it was always a possibility, although not guaranteed. Ultimately, I accepted the plea agreement. I didn’t accept it because my concerns had been resolved. I accepted it because after this interaction, I had lost confidence that I would have an attorney vigorously advocating for me if I rejected the offer and proceeded to trial. I cannot speak to what was in his mind or what his intentions were. I can only describe my experience and the impression his words, tone, demeanor and handling of the situation left with me. I understand attorneys cannot guarantee outcomes and prosecutors don’t have to accept counteroffers. I wasn’t asking for guarantees. I expected private communication, meaningful discussion of my options, investigation of relevant evidence, and an attorney who would advocate for reasonable alternatives. Instead, I left the courtroom feeling pressured, unheard, embarrassed and without confidence in my own representation. When answering the judges questions to wave my rights to accept the plea i wanted to say all of this throughout. But as a father and a husband i bit the bullet so to speak,because I have a family relying on me and couldn’t stomach the thought of a trial with this individual as my representation. Based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend this attorney. Choose someone else. Or who knows maybe it was just me not worth fighting for he may do an outstanding job for you. Ive never been one to gamble but of it’s your thing This Is Your Guy!

I found Mastison through Hyatt Legal plans and he helped me with my legal guardianship of my grandchild. This was a painful experience, for all, but we sailed through the legalities and closed that chapter. I went back to his law office many times in the last 2 years: for legal advice, support, repr...esentation and was never disappointed. It helps to have a friendly voice of reason who understands the law and how to apply that knowledge.

I have been through two other attorneys over the years before hiring Josh, and he has a client for life now. It was a very emotional and stressful time for me and I had never actually went to court regarding my divorce or custody issues, it was always settled out of court and I often felt bullied. Jo...sh gave me the strength and helped me through the whole process. We went to court for the first time and everything went in our favor 100%! It was a potentially bad situation but with his preparation and skill we came out well ahead and so happy that we went to court. Hopefully the bullying will cease and my situation is so much better for my child and I. Before the other lawyers urged me to not go to court and to settle, but with the clear pattern of bullying and litigation, he convinced me this might be the best move and it was! He was always quick to reply to my phone calls and messages.