Fred Patrick Schuman

My experience with Fred Patrick Schumann was extremely disappointing. I felt that my case was not handled with the attention, communication, or advocacy that I needed. I was charged with domestic battery, and the charge was treated as my second domestic battery offense, even though, to my knowledg...e, I had never had a prior domestic battery conviction in the state of Illinois. The alleged victim had also provided affidavits stating that I did not commit the offense. Despite this, the State continued to pursue a sentence that I felt was excessive. After spending over a year in the Madison County Jail, I eventually accepted a plea deal for time served. I made that decision because I had already spent so much time incarcerated and was facing the possibility of spending even longer in jail. The result was a domestic battery conviction on my record, something that has had serious consequences for my life. I also felt that Mr. Schumann did not adequately listen to my concerns about motions I wanted filed on my behalf. I believed those motions could have made a difference in my case, but I did not feel that my requests were taken seriously. Communication was another major problem. I repeatedly tried to contact him, and my family members tried to reach him as well, but we struggled to get responses. I also felt that he did not make the effort to visit me while I was incarcerated. I tried to have him removed from my case because I had lost confidence in his representation. Overall, I felt unheard, unsupported, and left to make a life-changing decision without the level of legal representation and communication I expected. I understand that public defenders handle difficult caseloads, but I believe clients still deserve to have their concerns heard, their questions answered, and their legal options thoroughly considered. I am sharing my experience so others understand the concerns I had with my representation. I would encourage anyone working with a public defender to keep records of communications, ask questions about their legal options, and make sure they understand the consequences of any plea agreement before accepting it.