Houston Lawyer Made More Than $500,000 Handling Indigent Defense

Michael Howell, arrested for stealing from his former employer, was appointed by the judge to his attorney, Jerome Godinich. Howell had tried to meet with Godinich for months, but he was not interested. A year after his arrest, Howell and his wife met Godinich in his office, but it was clear that Godinich was not ready. Howell decided to represent himself and asked Godinich for his case file. In a court hearing, Howell asked the judge to appoint him a new lawyer, but Godinich countered that the office did everything he asked them to do.

Howell called the State Bar of Texas, which helped him connect with Restoring Justice, a nonprofit that agreed to take his case for free. Prosecutors dismissed the charge, but the case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Restoring Justice began reaching out to more of Godinich's indigent clients, but some became confused about who their lawyer was. Drew Willey, the nonprofit's founder, said he was not looking for business but rather offering to help Godinich's clients for free.

Tiffany Bonaparte, charged with manslaughter after a car crash, turned herself in and appointed Godinich to represent her. Godinich protested the switch and asked for a court hearing. Willey pushed back, stating that Godinich has 683 active cases in the courthouse and is handling a caseload over six times what the state has found adequate counsel can handle.

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