★★★★★
I've been in trouble with the law a few times in my life, and used a total of three different Defense Attorneys on three different cases, over about a ten year span. The first two criminal cases I picked up, were totally bogus, because I was totally innocent, but I was still charged, and faced severe enough punishment, that I felt I needed legal representation. So I retained a personal Defense Attorney, paid their BS inflated fees, and ended up getting a terrible deal, no better than one a Public Defender would have negotiated. So needless to say, I developed a pretty bad taste for defense attorneys, but I ended up on the wrong side of the law again, and got charged with two pretty severe offences. Charges that my PD was pushing me to accept the 6 month deal she had work for me over a like a 8 month period of time. I finally had enough of her lack of ability, care, and attention to my situation, so I told her to hand over my file to a real Attorney. I had not retained a Private Attorney, but hear good things about Stivers, and knew I was going to try to get him to represent me. So at 10 am in court with my PD, I told her thanks for nothing, I will be back this afternoon with my new Attorneys information. I left the courthouse with nothing but Jeffrey Stivers name, and the names of two people I knew that he represented in the past. I just went for it, I heard good things about Stivers, and had a good feeling that things would workout. I had no number, no idea if he was too busy, or even working, maybe he was on vacation, but I googled him, called his office, explained who I was and who I knew, and after a couple minute conversation, I was certain he was the Attorney I needed to defend me. His fee was very reasonable, I could tell he knew what I was really facing, and that the deal he was going to try and get me, was most likely obtainable. He never promised me any miracle deal, or lead me to believe I was gonna get the deal I was praying for, a deal with zero jail time. We both knew the DA was gonna demand a little jail time, but Stivers was confident he could get a very small amount that would ultimately convert to Home Confinement, CWP, or worse case weekends. Well sure enough, he got the DA to agree to 30 days, which I had 15 days credit, so it would end up after good time, work time, and a 3 day kick, doing 7 days. So to sum things up, I committed 2 felonies, felonies that even OJ wouldn't have been able to get out of. I was facing 6 months, 3 years formal probation, and 40 hours community service I owed. Stivers got me 15 days home confinement, (I ended up going to Lacy and slept for 7 days), 30 days Cal Trans, and 3 years Probation, which I think was an awesome deal. Besides his undeniable talent as a top Defense Attorney, Stivers brought a few other very desirable talents or traits into our client/Attorney relationship. He always made me feel like an equal, never like a criminal, who did stupid crap, and was just another low life with a few grand cash to take. He was sincerely concerned about the punishment/deal he would negotiate on your behalf, and constantly positive, and hopeful the deal you received would produce positive change for you, and your future, not just be the deal where you got one over on the man, this time! Anyway, the fact is, Stivers is a talented Attorney, he's a good man, a caring man, a positive man, and a fair man. Qualities, and personality traits that are very rare these days in any human, and even more so in an Attorney.
