| From |
 Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Thanks!
Hello, Hope all finds you well. I have found a pamphlet that Taser gives with their guns stating warnings on not recommended for use on people with low body mass index. You will find the link below. I didn't hear back from you today with regard to the delay for the EMS records. I really would like to get ahold of them. I didn't get the request in the mail today, if I get it tomorrow, they say I can fax it back but it still could take a few weeks according to the girl in billing. Just keep me apprised of what I can and cant do to help with this case. Thanks
From |
Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Thank you for the info. I am sending you some copies of
requests that have been sent out for Michael's case. I saw
that Joe called me but he wasn't the contact person Michael
signed for me to be able to share info with on the
representation agreement (but you are) so I technically
can't discuss specifics with him like I can with you unless
Michael sends me a quick email saying it's ok. I know it's
frustrating but I have to follow the rules even though he's
a parent. I've requested the PCSO departmental use of force
policy and I am waiting to receive that as well. My clerk
Aki (soon to be an attorney) is going to be coordinating the
witness interviews and the interviews with Michael's
friends. There's no particular rush on those because we have
months to do our discovery. I was working on a different
felony case recently but I finally got it dismissed
completely so I'm plugging back into the rest of my cases.
Criminal cases have strange time requirements that way.
Things move very slowly for months and then they become
all-consuming right at the very end. Michael's case will
probably also be that way. No worries though, he's in good
hands with Aki and I.
January 7, 2015 @ 1:40pm
January 7, 2015 @ 1:40pm
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
I’m going go ahead and give you a call
on Monday. Keith’s mom fell and was
hurt pretty badly so I’m a bit tied up
with hospital/surgery stuff right now.
Thanks.
--C
On Mar 2, 2015 2:14 PM, "Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com> wrote:
Michael,
I have been email potential expert witnesses and I am still trying to finalize one. I am going to submit a motion to continue the March 16th date and vacate the April trial date so we have time to get the witness lined up. I will let you know if court on the 16th is cancelled. Hopefully it will be so you can go on vacation with your family. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
C
From To
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com,
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
So a couple of things. It took a lot of searching to
find an appropriate expert witness. I finally found one
but their fee is insane ($11k +). Because I knew there
was no way to justify that expert’s fee, I called Dr.
Peter Morey. He was a psychiatrist (a medical doctor)
prior to attending law school with me. I just spent two
hours meeting with him and you will definitely want to
hear what he had to say.
First, he is arranging for one of the doctors that
trained him after medical school to be your expert
witness. His psychiatrist friend has great credentials,
would testify telephonically, and will probably charge
no more than $200/hour (maybe less). He would probably
only spend 10 hours or fewer on the case. This is an
amazing favor to me and I really hope you approve his
fee--we need him.
Second, Dr. Morey caught something very important with
your ER diagnosis. You were diagnosed with several
things, dehydration, renal failure, and rhabdomyolosis.
Here’s the lightening bolt revelation--rhabdomyolosis is
usually the result of crush injuries and it CAUSES renal
failure. Sherwood’s excessive force may have been the
cause of the renal failure. Its entirely possible that
he crushed you and put you in life threatening medical
distress.
Don’t get too excited yet, though. Dr. Pete is going to
do some research to pin down the other possible causes
of rhabdo, just to make sure it wasn't something
pre-existing. Don’t bank on the crush theory until he
finishes vetting the issue out. If the ultimate finding
is that it was a crush injury, I would willing to step
in and handle a civil suit if that is what you would
like to do. Again, don’t get excited yet, we need to
fully explore other causes of rhabdomyolosis first. If
something pre-existing caused the renal failure, we’ll
just stay on track with our current defense plan.
If crushing caused the renal failure there are
ramifications to your defense. It means that this
particular medical condition came after the incident so
it doesn’t bear on your mental state at the time of the
offense. The upside is that we still have your severe
dehydration to use for a defense. Marijuana doesn't
cause dehydration and you could have acted delirious
from dehydration alone. Dehydration takes a long time
to occur so it was already affecting you before you
smoked.
Finally, I want to bring Dr. Morey on-board as a
consultant. One of the things he does is mitigation
consulting, which is an important part of trial
preparation. He is the best person to gather and
prepare mitigation evidence like the concussion from
when you were younger. You would need to set up a
separate fee agreement with him but I know he will be
reasonable as a favor to me.
I will see you Monday morning. Have a great weekend.
--C
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
This is the firm that arranged for the expert. I’m
prepaying for that service because it is absolutely
critical to the case. I will add the expense for the
expert onto the cost of my fee agreement so it doesn’t
change how much you pay to me each month, but it adds
time to the end of our fee agreement to reimburse the
cost.
The other service this firm provides is mitigation
services. They put together a formal mitigation packet
for the judge to consider at sentencing, should Michael
be found guilty at trial. Mitigation is essentially all
of the reasons why Michael should not receive a harsh
sentence. I would very much like to have mitigation
services lined up in the event of a conviction, however,
I do not front these expenses like I do for the expert.
The price and payment options for mitigation services is
something you work out with Beth directly. I don't have
any control over those costs. My suggestion is that you
wait to officially retain her until we know for sure
whether mitigation is needed for sentencing. But I want
you to call her to set up a price/payment plan that you
could execute immediately if mitigation is in fact
needed. No sense paying for it until we know its
necessary, but I do not want to see a bad outcome
because we’ve failed to plan for a worst case scenario
and can't get our ducks in a row in time for sentencing.
Please just call her and find out a price/payment
arrangement. Let her know you’re going wait to formally
hire her until we know whether Michael has been
convicted. In the meantime I have a separate
arrangement that I've prepaid for the expert testimony.
I've emailed her to explain that you will reach out to
her about how much her services will cost. You don't
have to hire her at all if it is too expensive or ends
up being unnecessary.
Sent from Windows Mail
This is something of
interest:
Can Kidney Failure Cause Mental Confusion
2013-04-01 09:09
Mental
confusion can be a spell of
kidney failure which occurs when kidneys fail to work
properly. For people with kidney failure, mental confusion is
one of the most serious symptoms and it makes patients unable in
living normally and independently. Well then, how does kidney
failure cause mental confusion at all?
How does kidney failure cause mental confusion?
Kidney failure is a medical term used to describe an illness
condition in which kidneys fail to expel toxins. These toxins
are produced by our body and when they build up to a certain
level, they will threaten our internal organs.
For patients with kidney failure, because of high toxins in
blood, their central nervous system is affected easily. With
abnormal nervous sytem, they will experience various symptoms.
In early stage, discomforts like fatigue, headache, dizziness
and poor memory are the major clinical manifestions. At that
time, if effective treatment is not given, more signs like
dysphoria, muscle cramp, hallucination, mental confusion and
even coma appear.
Factors that can increase kidney failure patients’ risk
for mental confusion
Although high toxins in blood is the major cause of mental
confusion in kidney failure, there are some other factors that
may increase patient’s risk for mental problems:
1. High blood pressure: High blood pressure is a common symptoms
of
Chronic Kidney Failure and usually occurs in early
stage. It refers to the high impact of blood on the vascular
wall. Long-term high blood pressure causes cerebral vasospasm,
and aggravates cerebral ischemia and cerebral anoxia and so on.
This will increase the incidence of mental confusion.
2. Electrolyte disturbance: Kidneys are responsible for keeping
balance of electrolyte and electrolyte disturbance will occurs
when kidney failure is caused. Usually, kidney failure patients
have high potassium, high sodium, high phosphorus and low
calcium in blood. Serious electrolyte disturbance increase
kidney failure patient’s risk for mental confusion.
3. Acid-base disturbance: Acid-base disturbance causes
dysfunction of nervous system, which also can induce mental
confusion.
Kidney failure can cause mental confusion directly, but not
everyone with kidney failure will certainly suffer from mental
confusion someday. In some cases, with effective preventive
measures and timely treatment, mental problems can be prevented
or avoided effectively
Also please note:
The McDaniel study, like much of the TASER research to date,
concentrated on animal models. This has drawn some criticism
from TASER detractors. Such questioning is an acceptable part of
the scientific process, but it is important to remember that
much of what is known and practiced in modern medicine is based
on animal lab modeling.
Testing on animal models has clearly yielded important findings
about the safety of TASERs. But in order to address this
criticism, TASER International has sponsored research to gather
data on human subjects.
A human subject study conducted by myself, J.R. Miner, and D.R.
Lakireddy, "Cardiovascular and Physiologic Effects of Conducted
Electrical Weapon Discharge in Resting Adults," was published in
the peer-reviewed journal Academy of Emergency Medicine in
mid-2006. In this study, we tested 67 consenting volunteers at a
training event that required participants to be subjected to a
five-second, deployed probe application of a TASER X26. (The
TASER International online field use database indicates that 67
percent of deployments are for five seconds or less.)
Health histories and baseline sets of blood work and
electrocardiograms were obtained from each volunteer before they
received their TASER applications. Then, after the volunteers
submitted to a TASER exposure, they were tested for
electrocardiogram changes, blood acid levels, kidney impairment,
cardiac muscle damage, and skeletal muscle damage.
What was found over the 24-hour measurement period was
significant in dispelling fears that TASER devices are
dangerous. There were no changes in the subjects'
electrocardiogram readings and markers for blood acid, kidney
impairment, or cardiac muscle damage. The only elevated levels
were for skeletal muscle break-down, which was anticipated.
Breaking Down the Data
Let's take a closer look at these findings. The first test was
an electrocardiogram, a tracing of the heart's inherent
electrical pattern that is used to diagnose underlying heart
damage or potentially dangerous rhythm patterns. One myth that
surrounds TASER devices is that they can somehow cause an
abnormal electrical pattern of the heart, leading to damage or
death from electrocution. The fact that the electrocardiogram
readings were unchanged before and after exposure serves to
debunk this myth.
The next test was a measure for blood acid. One of the concerns
about TASERs has been whether their use can lead to metabolic
acidosis, a buildup of excess blood acid, which is known to
sometimes cause death. The best example of this is the state of
"excited delirium," a condition defined by the sudden onset of
hyperactivity and confusion, often seen in conjunction with
illicit substance abuse and/or mental illness. This study found
that a five-second TASER exposure is not associated with any
increase in blood acid levels.
Critics have also claimed that TASER exposure can cause kidney
impairment by damaging muscle cells and clogging the kidneys
with proteins released from these cells. Kidney impairment is a
serious concern because it can lead to permanent disability or
death, but this study appears to show that CEWs create no such
problem.
So If Michael was suffering from renal failure weather it be
from dehydration or other medical issues, and was confused about
where he was but thought what he was doing was just knocking on
his friends door, where was it justified. It was speculated
only after he was tasered that he "continuing to fight" The
officer outright lied on his report stating that he had
superhuman strength but no sooner he stated that he deployed his
taser multiple times and now the subject was in custody you are
talking less then 30 seconds and with the second officer being
on the scene when this all took place, where is her testimony.
She still didn't give a statement of the incident. She states
that the ambo had to pull over to re-restrain but the EMS report
says the complete opposite. How is that possible???? I cannot
get accurate info on the dispatch first the dispatcher is
telling the location then everyone was stating they were on
their way. Then 4D43 says she I going to the hospital with the
subject. A minute or so later she comes back on and says they
were pulling over on Hunt and Arizona Farms, then she comes back
seconds after that to say it was to re-restrain and just 30
seconds after that she said she is 97 at Anthem Hospital. Is
this in real time or did they cut the tape at certain times.
The hospital is approx. 6 1/2 miles from Copper Basin, MapQuest
said it is a 9 minute drive. Please advise on how this could
be. Also I we can still go with the culpable mental status due
to all the hospital records indicating he was in renal failure.
Also please note that metabolic acidosis carries the same
symptoms including lethargy and confusion. Thanks for your
time, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Tara Rolleri
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com,
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com |
Tara and Joe,
I wanted to touch base with you after the phone
call last night. I think it is very important
that I manage your expectations and reset some
boundaries based upon the discussion last night.
As a general rule I like to let some time pass
before I respond to things that anger me,
specifically because an angry reaction is
usually the wrong one. I’ve spent some time
thinking about the phone call and discussed your
expectations with Aki Stant, who will be
co-counsel for the trial, to get a second
opinion from another legal professional. At the
end of the day I still arrive at the same
conclusion. The phone call was inappropriate in
timing, demeanor, and most of its content. Let
me explain why.
First, this was a call placed late in the
evening, at a time when basically no other
attorney would even entertain answering it. I
should have sent the call voice mail. I have a
tendency to answer my phone outside of business
hours because, working in criminal law, I
understand arrests are made at all hours and
there is the potential the person on the other
end of the call is facing a crisis. There was
no crisis last night and there is no reason why
that phone call could not have been made during
business hours. Please respect my time and call
me during standard business hours if you need to
speak to me directly for a non-emergency. You
can email me anytime and of course call after
hours for any emergency situation that arises.
I have replayed the conversation several times
and have yet to see the point of it. We
ultimately reached a consensus about some new
discovery but the entire purpose of the call
seems to have been to simply vent, argue, and
review information at an inappropriate time. I
can tell you with all sincerity I have never a
client, or a client’s family member, ever take
that tone (arguing, interrupting, talking over
me, dismissing my advice) with me. At the firm I
worked at during law school, I know without a
doubt that the attorneys would have immediately
terminated a client for that type of behavior.
I’m not going to do that because I genuinely
want to help Michael. Communication
disturbances, if persistent, can create ethical
conflicts, however, that could force an attorney
to withdraw under the Attorney Ethics Rules.
I’m trying to avoid any continuing problems so I
do not get cornered into a position where I have
to withdraw despite good intent.
I know that the intent was not to be
disrespectful, but you need to be aware that
disrespectful was exactly how it came across.
You also need to spend some time reflecting on
the fact that you were completely unaware of the
overwhelmingly negative impression you were
making. I understand a lot of that has to do
with the “New York thing" as you put it. This
isn't New York.
Judges tend to give pro se plaintiffs a bit
of leeway in proceedings. No judge is going
to permit a pro se to disrespect members of
the bar or his/her courtroom. You need to
be cognizant of your demeanor or you will
burn your bridges.
I was extremely disturbed at the suggestion
that I should threaten the prosecutor with
suit/investigations/etc. There are ethical
rules for attorneys that are not optional
for me. One of those relates to
professionalism. An attorney engaging in
threatening behavior of the type you
suggested would find him/herself sitting in
front of the disciplinary board discussing
whether they get to continue being an
attorney at all. Even in the absence of an
ethical obligation, this is quite frankly
one of the worst tactical choices a
defendant/defense attorney could make. Most
dismissals happen with the consent of the
prosecutor, despite what the public's
impression is. Michael stands a better
chance having a good rapport with the
prosecutor than he would if we walk in there
and get everyone raging angry and out for
his blood.
If you expect over-aggression from me at
trial, you need to adjust your expectation.
There are decorum rules before the court and
practical considerations for jury dynamics
that counsel against that conduct. There is
an entire field of study devoted to jury
dynamics and “angry mean lady” is a serious
turn off to almost everyone. Juries hate
bullies and attacking officers on the stand
is a complicated and nuanced undertaking.
The best advice I ever heard with regard to
juries came from a true Arizona trial
legend. He told us to treat our time with
the jury like a first date. You need to be
likeable, first and foremost, or a jury
stops listening. You need to be confident,
not cocky. You need to stand your ground
without being a jerk. There is a degree of
charisma involved. This is exactly why I
immediately asked Aki to co-chair at trial.
You have to trust me and my tactics or you
need to find another attorney.
Finally, Tara and I have already had this
discussion once before--obsessing about
minor details. There is a difference
between a discrepancy and a legally relevant
discrepancy. That the victim said “placed
on the ground" while Sherwood said he did a
leg sweep is nothing more than semantics.
Its a discrepancy that is not legally
relevant. Most of the information I keep
getting is not relevant. Most of it isn't
admissible for either case. Its probably an
immediate mistrial to suggest (without an
ounce of evidence) that Sherwood bought his
position as a deputy. Speculation about
Michael's heart stopping and dehydration
wouldn't survive an objection, even if it
was allowed in, which it most likely would
not be. Some of your efforts are really
good. Much of it is misplaced when you look
at the big picture. Some of it relates to
your civil suit but not the criminal
matter. EMT misconduct does not explain the
criminal incident and there's a great chance
that I wouldn't even be able to use it for
anything. I want it because its medical
background that the expert witness needs to
be aware of, not because its useful at
trial.
There are practical realities to trial
evidence. It has to be relevant, reliable,
admissible, and presented by being sponsored
by an appropriate witness. WebMD means
absolutely nothing. WebMD is not a trial
witness. Taser International is not a trial
witness. Joe's experience as an EMT, and I
do not mean this disrespectfully, is not
usable. You two keep shooting volumes of
minutia at me most of which I cannot use.
It is not productive and obsessing is going
to exhaust you.
Also, there are evidence rules that strictly
limit pursuing collateral issues (95% of
what you send me are collateral issues--i.e.
the car…calling every officer a liar makes
you look crazy to a judge/jury, even if
you're right). Even if you could present
all of the collateral issues, it would kill
your case. Juries have limited attention
spans. Drown them in issues of every type
and they stop listening to you completely
because it gets too confusing for them.
That is exactly why you see every major
trial stick to a core storyline, one with
only a couple of key themes.
I don't mean to isolate you but we did need
to have this discussion. I hope you
understand. I am doing my best to look out
for Michael's best interests and you need to
trust me or find someone else you do trust
ASAP before a trial date is set.
--C. Peterson, Esq.
Sent from Windows Mail 4/14/15
Re: Mitigation Paperwork
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri
tararolleri@aol.com |
| Cc |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com |
Tara,
I’m a bit frustrated
because we seem to be
having the same
conversations over and
over again. You've
already told me about
the hospital. I believe
you that he was
disoriented and its a
critical component to
the criminal case. You
are already listed as a
trial witness…for the
State. They can
subpoena you if they
want to in order to
recount things you said
to Sherwood. I can't
control the prosecutor’s
direct examination of
you if that happens, I
can only attempt to fix
issues that pop up when
I get a chance to cross
examine you and then
recall you as a defense
witness later if I need
something else from
you. This exactly why I
told you months ago to
limit your involvement
in exploring Michael's
criminal defense. My
communications with him
are privileged. My
communications with you
and Joe are not. Your
working your way into
potentially being the
single most harmful
witness against Michael,
should the prosecutor
catch on to ask you the
right questions.
I’m worried that you're
jumping to conclusions
about what the expert is
going to say in his
report. The fact is
that we don't know yet.
I don't have the written
report, only verbal
preliminary thoughts.
Those could change with
more detailed review.
The report could come
back and say exactly
what we want it to. It
could end up
beautiful---full
criminal defense plus
the crush injury. We
don't know yet. I did
ask Dr. Morey about the
botched CPR theory
yesterday, however, and
he said absolutely not.
I expect you may want to
double-dip and use the
expert's report in your
civil matter as well but
you should know up
front that the doctor
will not support that
theory at all.
The expert costs
$200/hour. Overall cost
is based on how many
hours he works on the
case. I prepaid $1000
to cover document review
and issuing a written
opinion. If the written
opinion is enough to get
a dismissal, we don'
have to pay for anymore
time. If I need trial
testimony I will prepay
another $1000. He will
invoice his time to me
and issue a refund if
I've overpaid. I won't
know the final cost
until we're done using
his time. I don't
expect it to exceed
$2000 but I cannot be
certain. I will add the
actual cost (after I
know if I’m paying him
more or getting part of
the pre-payment back) to
your balance with my
office and you just stay
on the payment plan of
$500/month until its
done. I can send you
copies of his invoices
to me when I get them so
you know how much more
to pay on the payment
plan. I don't have any
invoices yet because
he's still working.
I understand the case is
expensive but my fee is
probably half of what
any other attorney would
charge for it. I
discounted it
substantially because
you were referred by a
good friend. Its easy
to lose sight of things
when you're on a fixed
fee contract with an
attorney. My hourly
rate is $150/hr. Each
court hearing takes
about four hours with
travel from my office.
We've had four of
those. Now consider all
of the time on phone
calls, emails, reviewing
information you've sent
me, etc. That time
approaches the full
contract price before I
even factor in the time
spent reviewing
documents, talking to
the prosecutor,
arranging and discussing
issues with Dr. Morey,
or engaging in trial
preparation/legal
research with Aki. This
case is a major
undertaking that I am
not taking lightly.
Please understand and
respect the value of my
time. Most of the hours
I spend on this case are
not compensated when
placed in perspective
with a standard hourly
contract. I don't
regret the discounted
rate because Michael
definitely needs help
but please keep that
question in your mind
when you send me
things--”Would I still
send this
email/article/etc. if I
were being billed $150
an hour for this time?”
I think that question
will help us begin to
filter out some of the
repetitiveness and
oversharing so I can use
my time in a more
productive way for
Michael.
Finally, I genuinely
hope you're not counting
on the civil case
financially. It could
take years to get a
settlement, if the case
is litigated properly
from the outset so as to
survive motions to
dismiss/summary
judgment. It could be
many years if you go to
trial, win, and have to
deal with the County's
appeals (which is almost
certainly would
pursue). You could also
lose the case before
trial or at trial.
There is absolutely no
guarantee you will see
money out the civil
suit. Please just keep
that in mind. Don't
have unrealistic
expectations. You're a
really nice person and I
would hate to see you
experience total
disappointment if the
suit ends up going
south.
--C
Sent from Windows
Mail Sent on
4/15/15 @ 12:56 pm
Re:
Michael
Micolo
| From | Chelsea Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide details |
| To | Tara Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Spoke with expert. He needs the copies of this (valley fever) medical paperwork, medical documentation of when Michael had head trauma, and his ADHD diagnosis. I know we discussed this paperwork in December but as far as I know I don't have it yet. He is anticipating that, although lab results were abnormal, a doctor testifying against Michael could say that as a normal, healthy young male he should be able to handle some abnormality without being in an altered mental state. This documentation provides him with a reason to rebut that suggestion by saying that Michael's brain isn't wholly normal because of the ADHD and he becomes more prone to severe symptoms under medical stress. It's important so please get this done as soon as you are able.
Thanks,
C
Sent on 4/15/15 @ 3:02pm
What I currently have in my possession is pills that he was on and refused to continue to take due to the way they made him feel. I will look up Dr Z in NY to see if I can get his records. Michael will go to Banner tomorrow for the incident where those boys beat him up and left him with a concussion. As far as the Valley Fever incident is concerned I sent you some Dr's records from My Dr. Now showing the prognosis for Valley Fever but when they wanted to just hand him some steroid that Michael looked up after he got the diagnosis. He said no way and we took him to the same Banner so he will get both of those records tomorrow. However we opted to do nothing after the second x-ray because they said the mark on his lung didn't seem to be getting bigger. Do you also need the school records or just the old pills and Dr. Z's notes? Also if you need the records I sent you previously just let me know and I will resend them.Im sorry to waste your time, I just needed to share my experience with Michael so as to help you to best represent him. I know he wouldn't take anything mind controlling or stimulating. He already runs high in life and when he smokes or ingests marijuana it helps to slow him down. Plenty of legislation to show how it is helpful to people with ADHD.... Your smart and I know you'll put it all together beautifully. Im trusting in you and god to see this through.Tara Rolleri
tararolleri@aol.com
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Thank you. I have a draft of the expert's report. It's
very favorable. He will send me the final version soon
and I will of course make sure you have a copy. I will
get it over to the prosecutor ASAP and reach out to him
about a dismissal. Hopefully we will have an answer
this week.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail 4/27/15
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com,
Tara
Rolleri
tararolleri@aol.com |
I just emailed a deviation
request and copy of the expert
opinion to the new prosecutor.
Let’s see what he says.
--C sent 4/28/15
Sent June 8 2015
To anyone who decided to read through all these emails, I obviously never hired a lawyer for a crime before so I didnt know what I was supposed to do or say. Telling the truth is the only way, I believe will give a person closure. While Chelsea found my constant bickering to be aggravating, I dont see how she would have known about his prior medical issues If I didnt. If a lawyer lacks compassion then they lack conviction and are just doing it for the paycheck and the perks. As you can see, over time we just wanted this thing to be done and the state kept dragging their feet. Chelsea also had better things to do. No one was really working for us. No one really wanted to hear that Michael was having a Delerium Episode due to Dehydration and the cops made it become Excited Delerium where he couldnt account for his actions because that would make the officers statement a lie and the jury, well according to the lawyers, the jury (everyday folks like you and me) are picked from the bottom of the barrel (Under a rock) and they will believe what the cop said over what some skinny, tall, doped up kid had to say? These people live with no conscience what so ever.
Ultimately We Filed a Complaint With the Arizona Bar Association. Those files will be uploaded shortly.
The hearing on Monday is
scratched. I’m working to
get it reset. The paperwork
didn’t get to the settlement
judge in time. I’ve tried
faxing it and mailing it but
the Clerk’s office says it
doesn’t have it. I’m
working to get us in for a
conference as soon as
possible.
Sent from Windows Mail
on 5/29/15
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
Tara
Rolleri
tararolleri@aol.com |
Settlement
conference
is still
on. June
1 at
1:30
| From |
Tara
Rolleri
tararolleri@aol.comhide
details
|
| To |
cpeterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com |
Hello, I
hope all
is well
with
you. I
realize
that you
said
there is
no logic
in court
or the
structure
of
judicial
proceedings
but I
cannot
understand
for the
life of
me why
with all
the
information
we have
showing
that the
Sargent
is
clearly
and
blatantly
lying
about
the
facts of
that
evening,
as well
as
Michaels
Medical
Diagnosis,
why you
would
tell him
that he
should
take a
deal
that is
going to
stop him
from
getting
his
financial
future
set. Do
you feel
as
though
you
cannot
carry
this
case
based on
merit? You
were
told
ahead of
time the
perplexities
of
this case
and our
feelings
behind
not
taking a
deal
that
would
result
in
decrementing
his
future.
You
insisted
that
your
other
career
and
knowledge
that you
possess
from it
would
help you
in going
to trial
if one
should
come
about.
We, as a
family
discussed
the
ramifications
of this
so
called
deal,
and for
a young
man that
is not
guilty
of
anything
other
then
dehydrating
himself
and
becoming
confused
of his
whereabouts. He
made a
mistake
that
didn't
break
anything
or hurt
anyone,
he ended
up hurt
-
branded
in
fact.
And now
you want
his
branding
to not
only be
on his
chest -
but also
on his
permanent
record?
What
happened
to your
motion
to
dismiss
based on
medical
records?
What
happened
with the
other
requests
or
subpoenas
for deputy Reyes,
she
obviously
was
there
when he
got
tazed.
Where is
her
taser
records
too.
We
thought
you said
you have
what it
takes to
do a
trial...Do
you
really
believe
that a
jury of
many
people
will all
see this
as
anything
more
then it
was?
Please
don't
let us
get all
the way
down the
road
just to
be
disappointed. If
you feel
as
though
you
cannot
handle
this, we
will
have to
ask you
to
dismiss
yourself.
With
that, we
would
need an
account
for the
hrs. you
put into
this
case based
on your
reimbursement
policies
as we
will
have to
retain
other
council
and
cannot
afford
to pay
twice.
Also
forgive
me if Im
getting
ahead of
myself,
however
when you
tell
this
young
man to
throw
away his
career
choice
and only
excuse
is some
old coot
who
resided
on the
bench
many
moons
ago -
the jury
of 8 or
12 or
however
many are
supposed
to be
present
will not
be a
slew of
old
people
with
backwoods
thoughts.
Poll
just in
Florence,
how many
people
have an
MMJ
card.
All
those
who are
to serve
on the
jury
would be
from
Apache
Junction
to
Florence
and
beyond.
You need
to
address
my
concerns
and let
me know
where
you
stand,
as time
is
always
of the
essence.
I would
prefer a
phone
call but
if you
feel as
though
email is
necessary
then so
be it.
Chelsea,
Regardless of how
many people are on a
jury the pertinence
was clearly trying
to reflect that when
there is more then 1
person listening to
these facts, they
couldn't possibly
come back
with anything more then
a hung jury. You
feeling as though
you need to explain
just means more
billable hrs.
right? Its not that
I am not listening
to you, it is that I
cannot retain what
you are saying. I
too have mental
issues or haven't
you noticed. So
when I look at your
flat fee agreement
where you have
clients
responsibilities
showing that in
order for you to be
effective
representation with
cooperation and
assistance and I
feel that everything
about Michael, who's
integrity as a
respectable person
is being questioned
at this point, is
relevant to his
case. If they just
throw something out
at you with regard
to his past, then
you need to know
ahead of time so
that you are an
effective legal
asset to his or any
clients contact
list. Based on the
fact that we never
met any lawyer who
would handle a case
all the way through
trial without any
extra expenses (ie.
the flat fee) we
assumed it meant you
actually care about
clients who are
indigent but need
something more than
a public defender on
their side.
Back when I was
flooding you with
information from the
web, you informed me
of my issue and
since then I don't
think I sent you
anything expect for
what we could expect
at this settlement
conference. However
you didn't answer
that email for some
reason. Nor text
Michael about the
information as
well. Considering
he was the one
asking.
We carried such high
hopes and stopped
calling potential
lawyers when you
said you would be
interested in the
civil case, however
when I asked, you
later state that we
have is so messed up
that you don't want
it anymore.
That made me call
more lawyers. What
I found was that
even with pleading
to the RA charge, no
lawyer would even be
willing to put in
their time.
You think this is
just about
civil compensation,
Its about changing a
law for Arizona, one
similar to other
states to protect
the mentally
disabled or
temporary states of
delirium that
happens when people
are dehydrated. It
don't matter what
your race, some
police think that
what they do is
justified and they
have to see that
they can and will be
held to a higher
standard.
As far as you
claiming to hold off
on motion practice,
we didn't even hear
about settlement
conferences existing
until you somehow
got it thrown in for
6/1. We believe
that putting in a
motion to dismiss
based on medical
proof would bring
that to light so
they didn't have to
waste all our times
with going back and
forth in settlement
conferences.
Holding off would
only stand to hurt
you on the back end
wouldn't it? I look
back in the emails
but cannot find the
part where you told
me at all about the
interviews only
being agreed upon
after these
conferences. We
told you he was not
willing to take a
deal, then Michael
see's how long he
has been dealing
with this and gets
desperate to cut the
cord so that he can
concentrate more at
school for a job
that ultimately he
wouldn't even be
able to get based on
his criminal
record. Once he
looked up the
information he
needed to see that
anything on your
record, even one
that becomes a
misdemeanor, would
still stop him from
getting him to his
goal. He has been
trying so hard to
not let this effect
him but it is!
For a kid with ADHD,
he was told over and
over again, keep
your eyes on the
prize and keep
working toward your
goals. He knew what
he wanted to do
since my little
brother was
diagnosed with
Cancer. He wants to
help these types of
patients
"And now you want
his branding to not
only be on his chest
- but also on his
permanent record?"
This statement
indicates that you
told him to take the
deal "My
professional advice
is to take the
resisting arrest
plea and earn a
misdemeanor with
that has no weapons
connotation to it.
If you don't, you
are taking a
monstrous gamble
that even a seasoned
judge said you would
likely lose in front
of a pinal county
jury. If you lose
you will be a felon
for many years to
come and your entire
potential employment
field will
disappear" is a
gamble based on
what? I asked but
got no response.
I hired you to
represent him, as a
19 year old he still
don't know what is
going on with life,
most of us don't but
as a parent I am
always going to have
his best interest
where as once your
done with him,
you'll consider it a
good job but time
after time he will
get doors slammed in
his face and wont
feel as though he
made a good deal.
Now a days you put a
persons name into a
search engine, and
you don't even have
to pay to get the
info your looking
for. And the door
closes again.
We didn't
continually treat
you disrespectfully,
The only time you
spoke to Joe on the
phone was the last
time he corresponded
with you because of
how bad he felt from
your letter. We did
ask you if starting
a civil case with a
criminal case going
on was going to
create an issue but
we got told no. You
asked later on if we
were willing to drop
the civil case for
the criminal case,
even though no such
offer was even
established, and we
said no because of
all the civil
liberties he lost
based on these false
charges.
Before I knocked on
peoples doors, I
asked you, but got
no answer, it was
the weekend and that
Is when people tend
to be home. I was
trying to help you
because you were so
reasonably priced I
didn't want you to
loose money with
hiring an
investigator or
however you acquire
your resources. Too
much time clouds
peoples thoughts, or
they move but not
knowing if someone
knows something that
would help my son
was not something I
was at liberty to do
at such a critical
stage into my
investigation. It
wasn't till it was
done that you told
me I shouldn't have.
So based on the
statement we are
using the criminal
case as our shortcut
to the civil
litigation discovery
you are
withdrawing? Isn't
one really about
another and so it
takes one to support
the other?
As far as your time
is concerned I got a
few issues with them
seeing your gonna
change things from
flat fee to hourly.
1. On 3/16 the
court appearance, I
don't know why if
trial was set back
on 1/26, why on 3/16
was it vacated and
when we went there
you said you were
waiting on some
expert testimony and
that is why it
needed to be
postponed. You
didn't get it in
time because it took
you so long to
research and find
the person and you
didn't take care of
that until 3/6.
What happened in
February, you got
busy? It would have
been 4 hrs less that
you billed if you
would have done the
research in Feb. and
were ready for March
right?
2. Im not sure if
it was the January
26th court date or
3/16, weren't you
going right to visit
your potential
mother in law that
wasn't far away from
Florence who was in
therapy. I think
you might have
billed for that hour
of drive time back
considering court
doesn't take more
than an hr and you
charge for 4 I am
assuming you are
adding in travel
time, which is your
right to but I don't
think you can charge
it completely if you
are engaging in
another activity, I
could be wrong but
Im sure something on
the web could help
me better understand
it.
3. 4/14-4/17 Who are
the multiple client
emails to? One of
which addressed my
husbands phone call
the night before, so
I guess you could
say you did bill for
the numerous,
numerous emails as
you put it.
4. On 5/29 why did
you have to go there
to file a hearing
request? You
couldn't send the
request through
email?
So at this point you
see that charging a
flat rate fee for
something that takes
too many hrs up of
your time before a
trial is even set,
may not be helpful
to you when the
reason you became a
lawyer was to make
money and now you
don't want to
represent him in the
trial because you
lost money at this
point?
That would then
explain away my
thoughts on your
feelings for him
taking the plea,
rather what I
figured was that you
see that the Sargent
really did do the
wrong thing and you
don't want to
implicate a fellow
officer? Well I'm
sorry that those
feelings escaped my
inner thoughts but
with no other reason
that I could
possibly come up
with that wouldn't
make you look greedy
or uncompassionate
toward the situation
I chose to believe
you didn't feel
right about having
to enlighten the
world on the way
some people police.
So I again apologize
for coming unglued
when you said you
strongly suggest him
taking the deal I
also thought, you
must know something
that we don't
because all our
evidence says
innocent to me.
So at this point you
are going to put in
a motion to withdraw
based on the things
you mentioned and a
judge has to
determine if he
wants to let that
happen? It's been a
long time since I
googled that, I
guess it was around
4/14 when you
threatened to
withdraw from the
case than because
of our apparent
attempt to assist
you and Michael.
Seeing that you
looked younger than
you probably are we
figured you probably
don't come across
these cases
everyday, we though
we were helping and
when we found out we
were not, we
stopped. We put the
blame on ourselves
when we do wrong but
stand up for what we
believe in and
always do the right
thing.
That is our motto,
just do the right
thing!
I'm not sure how
that will go, but Im
sorry that we could
not reach an
amicable resolve, or
that you didn't have
the will to
persevere through
these tough times.
Paying someone again
to do what needs to
be done is a waste
of money and you
quitting because you
lost money and
patience is not
right.
Sent June 9 2015To anyone who decided to read through all these emails, I obviously never hired a lawyer for a crime before so I didnt know what I was supposed to do or say. Telling the truth is the only way, I believe will give a person closure. While Chelsea found my constant bickering to be aggravating, I dont see how she would have known about his prior medical issues If I didnt. If a lawyer lacks compassion then they lack conviction and are just doing it for the paycheck and the perks. As you can see, over time we just wanted this thing to be done and the state kept dragging their feet. Chelsea also had better things to do. No one was really working for us. No one really wanted to hear that Michael was having a Delerium Episode due to Dehydration and the cops made it become Excited Delerium where he couldnt account for his actions because that would make the officers statement a lie and the jury, well according to the lawyers, the jury (everyday folks like you and me) are picked from the bottom of the barrel (Under a rock) and they will believe what the cop said over what some skinny, tall, doped up kid had to say? These people live with no conscience what so ever.
Ultimately We Filed a Complaint With the Arizona Bar Association. Those files will be uploaded shortly.
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com,
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
So a couple of things. It took a
lot of searching to find an
appropriate expert witness. I
finally found one but their fee is
insane ($11k +). Because I knew
there was no way to justify that
expert’s fee, I called Dr. Peter
Morey. He was a psychiatrist (a
medical doctor) prior to attending
law school with me. I just spent
two hours meeting with him and you
will definitely want to hear what he
had to say.
First, he is arranging for one of
the doctors that trained him after
medical school to be your expert
witness. His psychiatrist friend
has great credentials, would testify
telephonically, and will probably
charge no more than $200/hour (maybe
less). He would probably only spend
10 hours or fewer on the case. This
is an amazing favor to me and I
really hope you approve his fee--we
need him.
Second, Dr. Morey caught something
very important with your ER
diagnosis. You were diagnosed with
several things, dehydration, renal
failure, and rhabdomyolosis. Here’s
the lightening bolt
revelation--rhabdomyolosis is
usually the result of crush injuries
and it CAUSES renal failure.
Sherwood’s excessive force may have
been the cause of the renal
failure. Its entirely possible that
he crushed you and put you in life
threatening medical distress.
Don’t get too excited yet, though.
Dr. Pete is going to do some
research to pin down the other
possible causes of rhabdo, just to
make sure it wasn't something
pre-existing. Don’t bank on the
crush theory until he finishes
vetting the issue out. If the
ultimate finding is that it was a
crush injury, I would willing to
step in and handle a civil suit if
that is what you would like to do.
Again, don’t get excited yet, we
need to fully explore other causes
of rhabdomyolosis first. If
something pre-existing caused the
renal failure, we’ll just stay on
track with our current defense plan.
If crushing caused the renal failure
there are ramifications to your
defense. It means that this
particular medical condition came
after the incident so it doesn’t
bear on your mental state at the
time of the offense. The upside is
that we still have your severe
dehydration to use for a defense.
Marijuana doesn't cause dehydration
and you could have acted delirious
from dehydration alone. Dehydration
takes a long time to occur so it was
already affecting you before you
smoked.
Finally, I want to bring Dr. Morey
on-board as a consultant. One of
the things he does is mitigation
consulting, which is an important
part of trial preparation. He is
the best person to gather and
prepare mitigation evidence like the
concussion from when you were
younger. You would need to set up a
separate fee agreement with him but
I know he will be reasonable as a
favor to me.
I will see you Monday morning. Have
a great weekend.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
Nice sounds great. I appreciate all the great work your doing.
On Mar 10, 2015 2:56 PM,
"Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com>
wrote:
No. Sorry.
Good news, though. I think I’ve found the perfect expert witness for your case. I should have an idea about how much he will charge very soon. His initial impression is favorable to this line of defense.
I will let you know more as I get the info.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
So courts not canceled?
Ok cool sounds great thanks for your awesome work :)
On Mar 2, 2015 2:14 PM, "Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com> wrote:
Michael,
I have been email potential expert witnesses and I am still trying to finalize one. I am going to submit a motion to continue the March 16th date and vacate the April trial date so we have time to get the witness lined up. I will let you know if court on the 16th is cancelled. Hopefully it will be so you can go on vacation with your family. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
C
Sent from Windows Mail
From: mmicolo10@gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2015 1:56 PM
To: Chelsea Peterson
Was it 9 am I had to be there?
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com,
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
So a couple of things. It took a
lot of searching to find an
appropriate expert witness. I
finally found one but their fee is
insane ($11k +). Because I knew
there was no way to justify that
expert’s fee, I called Dr. Peter
Morey. He was a psychiatrist (a
medical doctor) prior to attending
law school with me. I just spent
two hours meeting with him and you
will definitely want to hear what he
had to say.
First, he is arranging for one of
the doctors that trained him after
medical school to be your expert
witness. His psychiatrist friend
has great credentials, would testify
telephonically, and will probably
charge no more than $200/hour (maybe
less). He would probably only spend
10 hours or fewer on the case. This
is an amazing favor to me and I
really hope you approve his fee--we
need him.
Second, Dr. Morey caught something
very important with your ER
diagnosis. You were diagnosed with
several things, dehydration, renal
failure, and rhabdomyolosis. Here’s
the lightening bolt
revelation--rhabdomyolosis is
usually the result of crush injuries
and it CAUSES renal failure.
Sherwood’s excessive force may have
been the cause of the renal
failure. Its entirely possible that
he crushed you and put you in life
threatening medical distress.
Don’t get too excited yet, though.
Dr. Pete is going to do some
research to pin down the other
possible causes of rhabdo, just to
make sure it wasn't something
pre-existing. Don’t bank on the
crush theory until he finishes
vetting the issue out. If the
ultimate finding is that it was a
crush injury, I would willing to
step in and handle a civil suit if
that is what you would like to do.
Again, don’t get excited yet, we
need to fully explore other causes
of rhabdomyolosis first. If
something pre-existing caused the
renal failure, we’ll just stay on
track with our current defense plan.
If crushing caused the renal failure
there are ramifications to your
defense. It means that this
particular medical condition came
after the incident so it doesn’t
bear on your mental state at the
time of the offense. The upside is
that we still have your severe
dehydration to use for a defense.
Marijuana doesn't cause dehydration
and you could have acted delirious
from dehydration alone. Dehydration
takes a long time to occur so it was
already affecting you before you
smoked.
Finally, I want to bring Dr. Morey
on-board as a consultant. One of
the things he does is mitigation
consulting, which is an important
part of trial preparation. He is
the best person to gather and
prepare mitigation evidence like the
concussion from when you were
younger. You would need to set up a
separate fee agreement with him but
I know he will be reasonable as a
favor to me.
I will see you Monday morning. Have
a great weekend.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
Nice sounds great. I appreciate all the great work your doing.
On Mar 10, 2015 2:56 PM,
"Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com>
wrote:
No. Sorry.
Good news, though. I think I’ve found the perfect expert witness for your case. I should have an idea about how much he will charge very soon. His initial impression is favorable to this line of defense.
I will let you know more as I get the info.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
So courts not canceled?
Ok cool sounds great thanks for your awesome work :)
On Mar 2, 2015 2:14 PM, "Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com> wrote:
Michael,
I have been email potential expert witnesses and I am still trying to finalize one. I am going to submit a motion to continue the March 16th date and vacate the April trial date so we have time to get the witness lined up. I will let you know if court on the 16th is cancelled. Hopefully it will be so you can go on vacation with your family. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
C
Sent from Windows Mail
From: mmicolo10@gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2015 1:56 PM
To: Chelsea Peterson
Was it 9 am I had to be there?
| From |
Chelsea
Peterson
cpeterson@petersonlawaz.comhide
details
|
| To |
mmicolo10
mmicolo10@gmail.com,
Tara
Rolleri tararolleri@aol.com |
Hi,
So a couple of things. It took a
lot of searching to find an
appropriate expert witness. I
finally found one but their fee is
insane ($11k +). Because I knew
there was no way to justify that
expert’s fee, I called Dr. Peter
Morey. He was a psychiatrist (a
medical doctor) prior to attending
law school with me. I just spent
two hours meeting with him and you
will definitely want to hear what he
had to say.
First, he is arranging for one of
the doctors that trained him after
medical school to be your expert
witness. His psychiatrist friend
has great credentials, would testify
telephonically, and will probably
charge no more than $200/hour (maybe
less). He would probably only spend
10 hours or fewer on the case. This
is an amazing favor to me and I
really hope you approve his fee--we
need him.
Second, Dr. Morey caught something
very important with your ER
diagnosis. You were diagnosed with
several things, dehydration, renal
failure, and rhabdomyolosis. Here’s
the lightening bolt
revelation--rhabdomyolosis is
usually the result of crush injuries
and it CAUSES renal failure.
Sherwood’s excessive force may have
been the cause of the renal
failure. Its entirely possible that
he crushed you and put you in life
threatening medical distress.
Don’t get too excited yet, though.
Dr. Pete is going to do some
research to pin down the other
possible causes of rhabdo, just to
make sure it wasn't something
pre-existing. Don’t bank on the
crush theory until he finishes
vetting the issue out. If the
ultimate finding is that it was a
crush injury, I would willing to
step in and handle a civil suit if
that is what you would like to do.
Again, don’t get excited yet, we
need to fully explore other causes
of rhabdomyolosis first. If
something pre-existing caused the
renal failure, we’ll just stay on
track with our current defense plan.
If crushing caused the renal failure
there are ramifications to your
defense. It means that this
particular medical condition came
after the incident so it doesn’t
bear on your mental state at the
time of the offense. The upside is
that we still have your severe
dehydration to use for a defense.
Marijuana doesn't cause dehydration
and you could have acted delirious
from dehydration alone. Dehydration
takes a long time to occur so it was
already affecting you before you
smoked.
Finally, I want to bring Dr. Morey
on-board as a consultant. One of
the things he does is mitigation
consulting, which is an important
part of trial preparation. He is
the best person to gather and
prepare mitigation evidence like the
concussion from when you were
younger. You would need to set up a
separate fee agreement with him but
I know he will be reasonable as a
favor to me.
I will see you Monday morning. Have
a great weekend.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
Nice sounds great. I appreciate all the great work your doing.
On Mar 10, 2015 2:56 PM,
"Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com>
wrote:
No. Sorry.
Good news, though. I think I’ve found the perfect expert witness for your case. I should have an idea about how much he will charge very soon. His initial impression is favorable to this line of defense.
I will let you know more as I get the info.
--C
Sent from Windows Mail
So courts not canceled?
Ok cool sounds great thanks for your awesome work :)
On Mar 2, 2015 2:14 PM, "Chelsea Peterson" <cpeterson@petersonlawaz.com> wrote:
Michael,
I have been email potential expert witnesses and I am still trying to finalize one. I am going to submit a motion to continue the March 16th date and vacate the April trial date so we have time to get the witness lined up. I will let you know if court on the 16th is cancelled. Hopefully it will be so you can go on vacation with your family. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
C
Sent from Windows Mail
From: mmicolo10@gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2015 1:56 PM
To: Chelsea Peterson
Was it 9 am I had to be there?