Andrew Perry Melton

About me: 40 year old male, no prior criminal history or arrests. University degree with successful finance career. Charged with: (1) Burglary Second Degree (Class B Felony punishable up to 10 years) and, (2) Malicious Mischief First Degree (Class B Felony punishable up to 10 years). Result: ...Plead to a single gross misdemeanor, served 72 hours of community service, no jail time. The following is my thank you letter I wrote to Mr. Melton upon my plea. I believe this is all you need to know in order to make an informed decision about Mr. Melton and his abilities. To be sure, I very strongly recommend Mr. Melton, unhesitatingly and without reservation. *** "My name is Andrew Melton. I'm an attorney. Your brother, (insert name), reached out to me." Those were the first words you said to me through that glass window in early (insert date). And as far as I'm concerned, they might as well have been uttered by god. I immediately broke down and cried like a baby. And while I only have a limited and garbled recollection of the conversation that subsequently ensued, I knew help had arrived. Your words marked the nadir of my chaos and paranoia. As I prepare to walk into court today with you representing me by my side, the transformation has been palpable - the chaos has progressively morphed into order...the paranoia into serenity. In a time of utter disbelief and despair, you showed up to save the day. You were a beacon of light during a deeply dark, dire, desperate, disturbing, and distressing moment. I will never forget your first words to me and how acutely reassuring they made me feel. I will never forget you. The best part of a dark sky is being able to see the brightest stars. You are a star, Andrew. You are a fantastic attorney with unwavering integrity. Thank you for getting me through this. Thank you for defending me. Thank you for saving my life. Sincerely eternally grateful, (insert my name).

You deserve a good attorney, but you NEED this attorney. Even if charges brought against you for alleged violations of the law are hyperbolic, wildly mischaracterized, bloated, or even objectively false, this may be the scariest event of your life. Even if you know what you did, what you certainl...y did not do, and know your actions and decisions were wrought from moments of weakness with the best of intentions, this may be the scariest event of your life. Your freedom, your livelihood, reputation, future, friends, and even family can all be at stake. This can be a torrent of physical, mental, and existential crises. Mr. Melton can help guide you. The law is written to protect our society and way of life. Punishment should be dealt out in accordance with the degree of violation of socially accepted norms; this is the basic tenant of a just system of law, our system of law. Unfortunately, there can be times when charges brought are based upon subjective and mischaracterized accounts with, at the very most, highly questionable and circumstantial evidence. Charges and potential punishment can far exceed the intents of a just system. In these situations, details matter. A skilled attorney working for YOU matters. Despite doing their best at a difficult, almost impossible job, law enforcement can be inadequate in exploring these details. You have the fundamental right to remain silent for a good reason. The state and prosecution are very powerful, much more powerful than you. Overworked and under supported public defenders, less skilled attorneys, or those without the personal touch and diehard dedication to justice may not be enough to provide you with fair and just representation. I witnessed this first hand throughout the horrible crucible I had to endure. I learned about the system of law and justice and was able to stay grounded and ultimately reach justice after hiring Mr. Melton. I did not understand how the word 'felony' could even be possible; terrifying, unjust, unfair, impossible. I thought my life was over until Mr. Melton took the time to consult with me and hear my story. He took the time to get to know me and listened to the details. The details mattered to him. This was a hard, complicated, heartbreaking story tainted and twisted by a broken relationship, love, anger, resentment, and addiction. This was a hard case for any attorney, but Mr. Melton took it in stride. He provided a rock solid, objective, even calculated viewpoint when necessary and a level of friendly, approachable support crucial to the process of finding justice for his client. He worked tirelessly, above and beyond, to reach not only a great outcome, but a just outcome. In my case, a resolution was reached in which I was able to look the Court in the eye without resignation and take responsibility for my gross misdemeanor offense. Three felony charges and another gross misdemeanor charge were dismissed because Mr. Melton got to the truth, through the myriad of details, and demonstrated this to the state so that his client got the outcome they deserved. He saved me from disaster, from injustice, and he may have saved my life. His work was truly exemplary. When you need help, when you need the best, you NEED the services of Mr. Melton.

In poor judgement, I hunted deer without a license not thinking that I was going to even see a buck. I did in fact see a buck, decided to take the shot, and killed it. I have never seen a game warden in my lifetime, and as bad luck would have it, as I was dragging the deer towards my truck, a game wa...rden drove up. Busted. The game warden wrote up the citations, but did not specifically call them out, but instead would allow the prosecuting attorney to decide how to cite them. In aggregate, they could have put me in jail for 365 days, up to a $10,000 fine, and a gross misdemeanor on my record. I contacted Mr. Melton and he immediately he claimed that hunting infractions were his expertise, that I shouldn’t be worried, and that he would get a reduced sentence. He was very kind and friendly, knew the law, and knew the hunting industry. Instead of waiting for the prosecuting attorney to charge me with the four citations and then negotiate the charges down, Mr. Melton proactively negotiated with the prosecuting attorney before he formally filed charges against me, resulting in me being charged with only one of four counts, a gross misdemeanor for illegal hunting of big game. No jail time. Two years hunting probation. Fine of $2500. Before the trial, Mr. Melton advised his approach on his strategy. He would indirectly try and get the judge to defer the sentence once my probationary time had been served. The challenge was that Mr. Melton could not overtly ask the judge for it because there was already an agreement in place with the prosecuting attorney and the prosecuting attorney could revoke the agreement. At the trial, the judge accepted the prosecuting attorney’s charges. I was granted an opportunity to state anything I wanted to say. I acknowledged that I made a serious mistake in judgement, was a professional, no prior criminal history, father, and in good standing in the community. I asked that given my circumstances, that judge would consider derring my sentence once my probationary period was up. He grated that. Without the coaching by Mr. Melton, I would have no known that was even an option or something I could ask for at the time of trial. In the end, I was very fortunate at the outcome. After two years of probation, the sentence will be dropped and the only consequence for me is a hard lesson learned, two years probation from hunting, and a fine of $2500. It could have been a lot worse. I am very grateful for the legal acumen of Mr. Melton, his network within the hunting industry, and his tenacity, strategy, insight, and friendliness.