Douglas Edward Rhoades

My fiance was assigned Douglas Rhoades as his public defender back in September of 2012..first off he was never able to talk to him-he did not answer his phone or respond to voicemails, and he had to have tried to get ahold of him around 3 times per day for maybe 2 months straight. He gave my fiance ...a copy of the police interview/summary which was only about 5 pages and missing pages 3 & 4! My fiance assumed that maybe this meant his case wasnt going to be too serious since Mr. Rhoades acted so nonchalant. My fiance went to court and was told on this date that that court date was the preliminary hearing, he had not been advised of this whatsoever and also wasnt aware of the magnitude of its importance to a defendent. He told the judge this as well as that he had not ever even talked to his lawyer and if this could please be re-scheduled-the judge then said no and to speak briefly with Mr. Rhoades for 5 mins. Needless to say the prelim went terribly which then gave the D.A. the confidence to continue the case, whereas had Mr. Rhoades been competent and asked the right questions etc, the case would have been dropped. After the preliminary hearing Mr. Rhoades asked to speak with my fiance privately where he told him he thought it would be best that he find a new lawyer. I hope that no one else has the mis-fortune of retaining this lawyer-i think they would really be better off representing themselves.

My husband is serving a seven year sentence because rhoades failed to mention a plea bargain and also never asked him where he wanted to go with the case. You can never get ahold of him and he doesnt call you back. We only meet with him 5 minutes out of 2 years. Don't use this public defender. If you... get him fire him.