“It was my birthday and I attended a Ted Nugent concert at the Soaring Eagle Casino. What was supposed to be a great night, turned out to be a nightmare. I was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and charged with, can you believe it, “disturbing the peace” at the Ted Nugent concert. I went to court and told the prosecutor that I thought these charges were ridiculous, but they wouldn’t listen and wanted me to plead guilty. I went to attorney Joe Barberi and took my case to him. Mr. Barberi went back to the assistant prosecutor and tried to convince him that my case should be dropped. He also wouldn’t listen to him. I didn’t know what to do. Mr. Barberi told me that I should never plead guilty to something that I didn’t do, yet I really didn’t want to go to trial and face all of the costs and worry about having a jury trial. Mr. Barberi convinced me that my reputation and future were more important than anything else, and he gave me the confidence and belief that if he took my case to trial, he would not lose. I know Mr. Barberi’s reputation for winning cases, so I made the decision to trust him and take my chances at trial. At the last minute, the assistant prosecutor tried to offer me a deal to “divert my case” and for me to pay an oversight fee, but I would still end up paying the court a lot of money and having to be on a court-supervised status for the next six months when I had done nothing wrong.
Again, I told Mr. Barberi I would trust him and take my chances with a jury trial. At my trial, after Mr. Barberi cross-examined the police officer, it was clear to everyone in the courtroom that the police had, as Mr. Barberi stated, “rushed to judgment,” and made all the wrong decisions by arresting me and charging me with these crimes. When Mr. Barberi gave his closing argument to the jury, he advised the jury that by the “speed of their verdict” they needed to send a message to the police and the prosecutor that I never should have been charged and this case should have never been brought before the jury. Thirteen minutes after the jury left the courtroom, they returned “Not Guilty” verdicts on both counts. I can truly say, without hesitation, that anyone who has a criminal justice problem should contact Mr. Barberi and his staff. They did an excellent job of preparing me and my witnesses for trial and Mr. Barberi’s courtroom performance was one that I will never forget. I rate Mr. Barberi and his entire law firm five stars.”
Jason Johnson Mt. Pleasant, Michigan