Arthur James Inman

I was arrested for possession of methamphetamines and driving without a license In December of 2004 in Tazewell County. I also had a warrant for my arrest in Peoria County for driving without a license, with no proof of insurance, invalid registration, and failure to appear stretching back from Janua...ry of 2004. Instead of answering to my crimes I chose to flee from Illinois to Georgia where I stayed for 9 years. During that 9 year period, I graduated from Mercer University with a degree in mechanical engineering. I was hired by an air force defense contractor. This job required department of defense (dod) security clearance. I talked to five lawyers in Peoria and Pekin Illinois. Out of the five lawyers, Mr. Inman was the only lawyer that gave me a good feeling about a positive outcome for my case. The other lawyers I talked to did not seem to think that I could get first offender act for the possession charge. I needed to handle this matter very quickly (within weeks not months). After driving to Illinois and turning myself into the Tazewell county jail and posting bond for the charges in both Tazewell and Peoria county, Mr. Inman began negotiations with the Tazewell county district attorney the very next day. I requested that the matter be handled within the week. This was a bold request on my part, but Mr. Inman negotiated for my court appearance to be moved from the next month to that week. Mr. Inman negotiated for the following: • First offender act to be applied • 30 hours community service • A $2000 fine. However, the district attorney agreed, but added the stipulation of: • Serve 2 weeks in the county jail • Probation for 2 years. • A $1000 drug assessment fee be paid. The DA’s probation, drug assessment fee, and community service stipulations were unavoidable due to the fact that they were statues under the law. However, the two week jail sentence was added by the DA in response to my 9 year flight to Georgia. Nevertheless, due to my recent employment I could not serve the 2 week jail sentence without jeopardizing my job. Therefore, Mr. Inman renegotiated my fine. The final sentencing was: • First offender act to be applied • 30 hours of community service • A $4000 fine be paid. • A $1000 drug assessment fee be paid. • Probation for 2 years. Even though I fled to Georgia for 9 years and the charges against me were felony offenses, I have not been convicted of the possession charge. I was very pleased with the outcome. As for the Peoria charges of driving without a license, no proof of insurance, and invalid registration, Mr. Inman within the same week mitigated that court case. I received the following: • Court supervision • A $670 fine • No further extension of license suspension. I did not originally retain Mr. Inman for this traffic case, but found myself chasing my own tail moving from office to office. I realized that I was going to be spending an extraordinary amount of time trying to deal with these charges myself. After Mr. Inman observed me floundering in my attempts to handle my own case, he took it upon himself to step in and negotiate my sentence within the hour. I was thoroughly impressed and very grateful for his assertiveness. In conclusion, I am very pleased with Mr. Inman’s handling of both the Peoria and Tazewell county cases. He stayed open minded when no other layers I spoke with were. He made me no promises, but maintained a realistic outlook for the final outcome of my cases. He worked in a truncated time scale by my request. He did all he legally could before I appeared in Illinois and litigated the majority of my cases within one week of my arrival. I am confident that his next performance will prove to be just as impressive as the first.