Joseph W Kuhlman

Hired Joe 12/3/23 to vacate and restore rights. For 1 year Joe promised that he was making progress and the case was nearing completion. I have many emails and texts from Joe stating this. On 12/3/24 I contacted the prosecutors office personally, to find out Joe had never even filed the paperwork, a...nd there was absolutely nothing in the works with my name on it. I have also come to find out Joe was arrested multiple times in 2023, as well as has pending lawsuits for not paying his bills. I’ve filed in small claims but at this point it’s probably blood from a turnip. Do your research through Pend Orielle and Spokane County and do not hire this person. Absolutely a fraud.

They were amazing. They listened to me, that is until they got their money. I had to call them for every update. (Which they weren't forthcoming with any info, ever) Then on the day of the hearing, I am told last minute that I have to "attend" and that it will be over Skype (even though I had previo...usly told them that if I had to attend, I wanted to in person). Figured out why they did it that way. It's so they could brush me off afterwards. I tried calling the office the second the hearing was over to figure out what everything meant and was told everyone was busy and I would get a call back. Someone finally calls me a few hours later, someone I have never talked to before and she is less than helpful and snappy the whole time I am trying to get answers from her. I finally tell her that I want to talk to Joe in person so that I better understand the judgment (she is even more unpleasant after this request). She tells me she will ask Joe and call me back. THAT WAS MAY 1ST! I still have no idea what the judgement entails and still have not gotten an answer on if my belongings are packed and when I can get them. Don't waste your time and money on these people. I could have gotten the same outcome from defending myself and would have saved myself over $5000.00

I have an ex who has borderline personality disorder. This causes her to become extremely paranoid of people she's been in relationships with. My ex filed a civil no contact order against me, which was originally denied, but without prejudice. She filed again, based on my requesting that she stop sla...ndering me. She never met the criteria, had never been a victim of domestic violence, nor harassment. As soon as she was granted one, she began filing violations against me, for anything and everything she could think of. I hired Mr. Kuhlman, at that point. During one of the hearings, the judge made the comment, "well, since she's a victim of domestic violence.....". I corrected the judge, she had never been a victim of domestic violence. If Mr. Kuhlman had reviewed the previous hearings, as I had asked him to, he would have been able to back me up on that, but instead he stared blankly. The judge considered what I had said, but then dismissed the thought. Later, Mr. Kuhlman offered me a plea bargain that was supposedly from the prosecutor. They were offering deferred prosecution, but that would mean I would be admitting guilt to something I wasn't guilty of, not to mention my ex would still have the NCO. I had given all the evidence needed to clear me of the violations she had filed, so why Mr. Kuhlman would try to push me to take deferred, is beyond me. They had also filed a misdemeanor stalking charge, which at the araignment, they offered a plea bargain, which I rejected, so they dropped the charges. Mr. Kuhlman told me on three separate occasions, three separate reasons why they had dropped the charges. His reasons seemed more to stroke his own ego than anything else. When someone lies to you about something minor, it's hard to trust them when it comes to anything else. Mr. Kuhlman did return 3/4 of the money I had paid him, after I released his services. Oddly enough, the prosecutor then tried to tell the court that he had dropped me as a client, but fortunately I had saved all of our correspondence. Honesty is key to trust, and Mr. Kuhlman has a lot to learn in that department.

I hired Joe to defend me on a bogus misdemeanor trespass charge that stemmed from an unlawful refusal of service at a local business. I have been victim of unlawful discrimination on several thousands of occasions in my life, and this time I chose to stand up for my rights. The police engaged in misc...onduct from the time they made contact with me, they eventually wrongfully arrested me, and to take their coercion a step further, they maliciously prosecuted me all for the stated purpose of interfering with my seeking to obtain goods and services. Could I have won my case without representation? Absolutely, the prosecutor could not establish that there was a lawful basis to deprive me of my statutory right of access without due process, which according to the state court of appeals in STATE v GREEN DOB 17 1967, is prerequisite to any allegation of trespassing under the statute. So why did I hire him? I told him on the day that I met him that the reason I was spending money I had to borrow for a defense attorney was to make sure my defense was handled in such a way that it would help my follow-up lawsuits against the business and the City. He told me he liked what I was doing, standing up for my ADA rights and trying to end this discrimination which is still ongoing in my life. He assured me he had me covered. And then I paid him. The next day, after my court appearance where he introduced himself as my attorney and set trial dates, he emphatically told me that my "arrest was valid" on the basis of I was instructed and refused to leave the establishment, without first receiving the service I have a statutory right to receive. I adamantly disagreed. I knew I was in for trouble when my own "top rated" defense attorney was taking the side of my opponents. I spent the next few months engaging in 1-way communication with his office. I uploaded documents for evidence through the cleo app. I sent several messages that were never responded to. I sent links to case law and statutes which applied to my case, everything I could find to show that I should have never been arrested in the first place, and in fact the person who called the police to begin with and the police themselves were the real criminals in my case. The only communication I received from Joe was the few minutes it took to walk from the courtroom to the door downstairs, except that one time when the conversation made it to the elevator. When my discovery came in, Joe would not allow me to see it. He never told me what was in it. I called his office and spoke to his assistant and she told me she would call me back within 24 hours with how and when I could see my discovery. That call never came. I sent emails, made phone calls, left voicemails requesting to see my discovery and all went disregarded/ignored. Joe Kulhman's intentions were clearly not to protect my interests in this matter, but to protect the City from having consequences for abusing me. I received a call from his office about a month later, it was 3 hours before my pre-trial conference. His assistant was calling to inform me that my case had been officially dismissed because the prosecutor dropped the charge. I asked about my discovery and she told me that was a matter of public record now. I asked if they could provide me with instructions on what to request and from where. She told me she would send that to me along with a copy of the order for dismissal. That was what, 3 weeks ago? I still haven't received anything. I know that he is a "hot shot" and can get a guilty guy off on a technicality, and for that, he is a valuable criminal defense attorney. However, if your case involves egregious misconduct on the part of the police, a wrongful arrest and a malicious prosecution and grounds for suit against the City, perhaps Joe is the wrong one to hire for your situation. He will prioritize protecting your abuser over defending your rights. That has been my experience.