Opinion ID: 2569696
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The B.C. Complaint

Text: On May 30, 1998, B.C., a minor, was arrested by the Prairie Village Police Department. The arrest occurred as a result of allegations involving shots fired at passing vehicles. On June 2, 1998, B.C.'s parents retained Sachse to represent their son in any criminal charges brought against him. B.C.'s parents told Sachse that their son would fully cooperate with the prosecutor and wanted to give a statement to the police as quickly as possible. They also told Sachse that they were going to place their son at Boys Town and wanted Sachse to explore the possibility of a plea agreement or diversion. They were told by Sachse that he would attempt to enter into a plea arrangement after charges were filed and that he would set up an interview with the police pursuant to their request. Between June 2, 1998, and June 30, 1998, Sachse failed to return B.C.'s parents' telephone calls. On June 30, 1998, B.C.'s parents sent a letter to Sachse which included a $1,000 retainer. In the letter, they requested information regarding the case. On July 10, 1998, an article appeared in the Kansas City newspaper reporting that charges had been filed against B.C. as a result of the shooting. From July 10, 1998, until July 24, 1998, B.C.'s parents tried to contact Sachse with no success. They faxed another letter to Sachse on July 24, 1998, and Sachse did not respond to the letter. They sent another letter to Sachse on July 29, 1998. Sachse called them in response to the letter and informed them that he was still trying to reach the prosecutor to arrive at a plea agreement. B.C.'s parents faxed another letter to Sachse on August 14, 1998. In the letter, they complained about a lack of communication with Sachse and requested a response from Sachse in writing by August 17, 1998, setting out how he intended to proceed with the case. Sachse did not respond by August 17, 1998. B.C.'s initial court appearance was scheduled for September 16, 1998. B.C.'s parents had sent B.C. to live with his sister in Iowa for the summer. B.C.'s parents traveled to Iowa to bring B.C. home for the court appearance. On the evening of September 15, 1998, Sachse called B.C.'s parents and told them he had a court appearance in Wyandotte County the next day, and he had obtained a continuance in B.C.'s case until October 8, 1998. On October 1, 1998, B.C. was admitted to Boys Town. During the admission process, Boys Town determined that he should not leave Boys Town on October 8, 1998, because on that date he would not have completed his orientation and would not have adjusted to his situation. Upon returning home from Boys Town, on October 5, 1998, B.C.'s parents left a voice mail message at Sachse's office indicating that October 8, 1998, was not a good court date for them because it conflicted with B.C.'s admission into the Boys Town program. In the voice mail message, they asked Sachse to obtain a continuance and inform them of the new court date. There was no response from Sachse to this voice mail message. On October 8, 1998, Sachse called B.C.'s parents when they were not at home and left a message, informing them that he was on his way to court. Shortly after, Sachse left a second message for them indicating that when they did not appear for court, he was able to soothe the rather upset judge and continue the first appearance to November 5, 1998. On October 12, 1998, B.C.'s parents faxed and mailed to Sachse a demand that Sachse contact B.C., coordinate the court appearance with the Community Director at Boys Town, confirm future court appearances, and advise them if a plea agreement had been reached. On October 17, 1998, they talked to B.C. and learned that Sachse had not been in contact with him. On October 28, 1998, B.C.'s parents faxed and mailed Sachse a letter discharging Sachse as B.C.'s attorney. On November 5, 1998, Sachse called B.C.'s father and asked if he needed to be at B.C.'s hearing. B.C.'s father told Sachse that he was not needed at the hearing. In the telephone conversation, Sachse volunteered to forward his file to B.C.'s new attorney, determine the amount of time and expenses to be charged against the retainer, and refund any balance to B.C.'s parents. Sachse did not forward any materials to B.C.'s new attorney, provide B.C.'s parents with an accounting of time and expenses spent, or refund any unearned fees. B.C.'s case was eventually resolved. B.C. pled to two counts of misdemeanor property damage and was placed on probation on the conditions that he complete his treatment at Boys Town and make restitution. On November 25, 1998, B.C.'s parents made a complaint to the Disciplinary Administrator. In Sachse's answer to the complaint, he denied the allegations. Sachse stated that in his initial meeting with B.C.'s parents, he explained that B.C. could be charged with a level 4 person felony and that B.C. could be subject to principal liability as an aider and abettor. He advised B.C.'s parents that a level 6 or higher person felony was a presumptive waiver to adult status and that a level 4 person felony carried a presumptive prison sentence of a minimum of 38 months. Because of B.C.'s substantial exposure, Sachse advised B.C.'s parents that B.C. should give a statement to the police only after entering into a plea agreement with the district attorney. Sachse stated in his answer to the complaint that he spoke with a representative of the juvenile district attorney's office after his initial meeting with B.C.'s parents, who advised him that he would not consider plea negotiations until he had reviewed all the reports on the case. He further advised that upon filing of the charges against B.C., he would not issue a warrant but would set the court date by issuing a summons. Sachse explained that in late July, the prosecutor filed charges against B.C. and issued a summons and notice to appear. B.C.'s parents were upset by a newspaper article that reported the filing of the charges. At the initial appearance, Sachse spoke with the prosecutor who advised that he would contact Sachse with a plea proposal. Sachse advised the prosecutor that the family had voluntarily placed B.C. at Boys Town. In Sachse's answer, he outlined the work that he had done on B.C.'s case. His answer states that he received daily telephone messages from B.C.'s parents at the office and often took calls from them at his home. He returned the calls, usually to let them know that he had heard nothing from the prosecutor and would call them when he did. Sachse's answer related that he obtained a continuance of the initial court appearance because a jury trial he was working on took longer than expected. He noted that he represented B.C. in juvenile court on September 29 and October 8, 1998. Sachse noted in his answer to the complaint that he received a plea offer from the district attorney by telephone, and B.C.'s parents were concerned that the offer was not in writing. Sachse advised them that he had worked with the district attorney on numerous cases, and he was trustworthy, but he maintained that B.C. should withhold a statement from the police until the deal was in writing. Sachse stated in his answer that he had approximately 8 hours invested in the matter at the time he was discharged from the case. He contended that the course of action he followed in the case was in B.C.'s best interest. He admitted in retrospect that he should have drafted detailed letters upon each contact with B.C.'s parents, but doing so would have resulted in a much higher bill. Sachse maintained that he does not owe them a refund. However, at the hearing before the panel, Sachse admitted that he did not keep records of the time he worked on the case and the expenses he incurred. His estimation of 8 hours of time worked on the case was from memory.