ArizonaShooting.com

Work for the Obama DOJ with Eric Holder as my boss? Thank you, no.

Re Tim Forshey:

I don't think censure and probation are things that "happen all the time" to attorneys. However, because of this thread I've just read through the Disciplinary Commission report and the Hearing Officer's report on Tim Forshey's State Bar discipline case in 2006 and it's pretty clear these are not willful or egregious errors. In fact, both the State Bar (which charged him with the offenses) and the AZ Supreme Court Hearing Officer agreed he was not trying to do anything bad to anyone, in fact both also agreed that in most instances he was "trying to do what he understood was helpful to people."

In one count, for instance, it seems clear that he was trying to help a woman raise funds to pay for the defense of her husband by selling all his guns (he'd become mentally incompetent) and bought a couple of the guns for himself without sufficient documentation of dates and who was in charge of the guns (i.e., did Forshey need sale approval from the husband even though he was in the looney bin?). I'd chalk that up to trying to do what's right in a hurried situation and not being careful enough. It's a dumb thing for an attorney to cut corners, but it seems it was with good intent and would only have helped the client, not hurt.

So, based on the reported findings presented in the Hearing Officer's report I agree he wasn't trying to hurt anyone. But I'd also note that at least two counts involved tardy responses or filings and in a third it appeared to be confusion or lack of knowledge about the intricacies of an intrastate jurisdiction dispute wrapped inside a messy divorce/custody case. Based on the H.O.'s report I'd be inclined to chalk it to lack of diligence, probably from overload that led to some things sliding by -- still ethical lapses, till his fault and being overloaded is no excuse, but not born of malice or anything like that.

Like some others here I met Tim Forshey when he co-taught a CCW class my wife and I took at Scottsdale Gun Club. I was impressed with his knowledge, manner, and the fact that he's a real shooter who really believes in gun rights and self-defense, not just some lawyer who is willing to take gun-related cases. Other than that I don't know him and have never talked with him since, but based on class interaction and 1:1 conversation with him on that one occasion I'd put him near or at the top of my list of lawyers I'd like to have next to me if I were ever involved in a shooting (and every day I pray to God that I won't).

Was that just because it wasn't in a labeled prescription bottle, or was it because it was somehow a problem to have a controlled substance of any kind (even personal Rx) if you also have a gun on you? I didn't think it was unlawful in AZ to carry around Schedule II/III drugs if they're in labeled Rx containers, whether or not you're carrying. (Anyone know for sure on this?)

I don't know what H-Alpha was doing, but here is the statute regarding weapons and drugs:



Chapter 34 is the drug crime chapter.

Its not illegal to carry your gun and your prescription pills, it is illegal to knowingly possess a pill you don't have a prescription for, regardless of whether or not you have a firearm.

Gigab1te is correct. No prescription + possession of pharmacueticals = Felony in most cases. It depends on the schedule level assigned to whatever pill/drug it is, as some carry a class 1 misdemeanor charge. It doesn't matter if it's a sliver of a pill like in my case, or if it's 500 pills. Kind of retarded that a 1/4 pill carries higher penalties than possession of two pounds of mary-jane.



I will say though that I was not charged with weapons misconduct even though I "allegedly" didn't have a Rx for the xanax, and the judge ordered the PD to release my weapon.

My case is currently suspended and will be dismissed in October.

Interesting idea. If anyone has any interest, I can ask my dad if he wants his info posted here. He's a recently retired criminal attorney with almost 30 years experience. He's about as pro gun as they get, and shoots practical competitions with me.

I want to take a minute to thank everyone that has been a part of this discussion. I have thought long and hard about everything here and what I would do if I (God forbid) have to draw my firearm with intent to use it against someone. After reading a lot of this I realized that I would have done pretty much everything wrong that I could had I not gained this knowledge. So for that I want to thank you all.

Is anyone familiar with Matthew Smiley out of Casa Grande? I live in Pinal county and want to try to ensure I've got my bases covered for someone that practices in this county and would potentially be more familiar with local LEO.

I haven't had many dealing with Matt, good or bad, but would also mention Jim Soslowsky.

Thanks JLH3, I'll look into him.

Great thread, needs to be kept active so that others will know who to call...also it should get updated to include the best ones around so we can check back on occasion.

ASDI - American Self Defense Institute
I used to do the $50/year with them in the 90's, but dropped it some years back. Their service was that if arrested you'd be on the phone with an attorney right away and then legal counsel was a fixed rate. Googling them, I'm not finding a web site for them though.

Pre-Paid Legal
PPL is the marketing side and they do use a multi-level marketing structure. You don't have to join as a fellow marketer and can just buy the product. For me, the sales guy met me at Texas Roadhouse, we had dinner, I signed up as a client but didn't want to be a salesperson and he paid for my meal. There's different levels for the product from about $20-30/month. They contract with legal firms around the country, so you'd get an attorney from wherever you are. For the Phoenix area, it's with the Davis-Miles law firm in Mesa. They have a mix of attorneys there with which I've been happy to work. The service gives a bunch of stuff such as free legal questions, they'll write attorney letters for free, all sorts of stuff. Then there's the negotiated-rate for being represented by an attorney which I can tell you is much lower than anywhere else in the Valley. For a straight concealed-carry-insurance type thing, I dunno if the cost/benefit analysis works out so hot. However, for those going through a litigious divorce, PPL is a very good way to go...and then just have the concealed-carry-insurance-type-thing along with it. If one were taken into custody after an incident, they'd pretty much have an attorney on the phone within hours.

Work Legal programs
I've seen a few work benefits which are somewhat similar to the PrePaid Legal thing that includes things like free consults with an attorney and a bunch of other things (willmaking/estate stuff is a popular one). Pricing I've seen through work benefits are about half of the PrePaid legal thing...something like $7-15/month, but this probably depends on how much your boss is kicking in. Some limitations of the work legal things are that you typically can't use it to litigate against your boss. But if one has it, it's typically pretty good stuff.

Since we've done Phx and Tus, how about a good lawyer in the Sierra Vista area, not that I plan to need one, but it's better to have a name just in case...

Rancher

Anybody good in Sierra Vista area, or would a person have to call a lawyer in Tucson?

Thanks,
J