It`s OK to Hug Your Lawyer
By Hal Haralson
Hal Haralson is a churchman, a family man, a lawyer, and a full-time human being. He is a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Texas Law School. He is active on numerous boards and in a variety of worthy causes. His law practice and his unique Christian ministry are based in Austin. Hal Haralson seems like kin-folks.
The lady whose name had appeared on my appointment schedule stood as I entered the waiting room.
She appeared to be about thirty-five, was well-dressed, and from the look on her face, was very distressed.
That`s a familiar look on the faces of people who need to see a lawyer.
"I`m Hal Haralson," I said. She offered her hand and replied, "My name is Mary Adams" (not her real name).
We walked down the hall to my office and I invited her to sit down.
"You were recommended to me by another lawyer." She told me his name. It was not a name I recognized.
"What can I do for you?," I asked.
She held out a sheet of paper for me to read. It was notice of arraignment proceedings in two weeks in Odessa, Texas. She was charged with resisting arrest.
"Why don`t you tell me what happened?", I asked.
"My husband and I divorced about nine years ago and I got custody of our son, who is now eleven.
"My ex-husband is a Baptist minister. He remarried and is pastor of a church near Waco. I have stayed active in the church and that remains an important part of our lives.
"I got a job with the Austin Police Department and remained with them for seven years. I had a very good employment record.
"An offer came from the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. It was a substantial increase in salary and offered more opportunity for advancement.
"I took the job and was assigned to the Odessa, Texas office. Things went well for about three years. I liked my work and was good at it.
"Then I began acting strangely. I couldn`t sleep. I was very discouraged and everything seemed to be bad.
"Then that changed and I felt invincible. I spent money on things I didn`t need. I ran up excessive charge accounts.
"I`m normally a very conservative person.
"My work began to suffer and I was asked by my supervisor to see a psychiatrist.
`After extensive testing and interviews, I was diagnosed to be a manic depressive.
"Over the next two months, I was committed to a private mental hospital on two occasions. Those were voluntary commitments. I cooperated because I was afraid I would lose my job.
"I got out and things were better. Then I began to feel very agitated and there were signs that the problem was coming back. I was really scared.
"One Saturday morning I was watching cartoons with my son when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and stood face to face with two uniformed police officers. `We have a warrant to pick you up and take you to the State hospital,` the police said.
"I knew my rights and asked to see the warrant. They pushed the door open and asked me to come with them. I was afraid that if I was committed to the State hospital I might never get out.
"I`m not going unless I see the warrant," I said, and began to back away from them.
"They grabbed me, put hand cuffs on me, and dragged kicking and screaming across the yard to their car.
"After spending the night in the State hospital, I was released the next day because my doctor said I did not need to be there.
"I was given notice of termination by the DEA. My son aniI I moved to Austin where I`ve been living with my mother. I`ve been in counseling and am working with the Texas Rehabilitation Commission for retraining.
"We`ve been in Austin about three months. I`ve about used up my termination pay and my savings but things were going pretty well. They told me at the Texas Rehabilitation Commission that with my college degree I stood a good chance of finding employment in another line of work."
"Where did you go to college?," I asked.
"A small West Texas college you probably never heard of," she said.
"Try me," I replied.
"It`s called Wayland Baptist University. It`s in Plainview, Texas."
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes, my doctor put me on lithium and it has really made a difference."
"I was beginning to feel like myself again and then this came," she said nodding at the arraignment notice.
She began to cry.
"I`ve tried to be brave, and I`ve prayed and prayed. Sometimes, I feel if I could have some answer from God to assure me He knows how afraid I am and how painful this is, that would really help.
"I`m afraid they will put me in jail at that hearing. I have no money to post bond. I have only $300.00 and you can have it all. Can you help me?"
"Mary, do I understand that you know nothing about me. You don`t know my background?"
"No, that lawyer just said I needed to see you.
"Mary, I think I can give you an answer to your question about whether God knows what`s happening and cares about your pain."
"What are the odds that you would see an attorney, about whom you knew nothing, and find out that he was a Baptist preacher for ten years before he went to law school?;
"That he grew up in West Texas and graduated from the only other Baptist college in that area, Hardin-Simmons University?;
"That he spent two years in the Army as a military policeman?;
"That at age 27 he attempted suicide and spent three months in the San Antonio State hospital?; and "That he was diagnosed a manic depressive thirty years ago and for the past twenty one years he has been on lithium?
"I think I hear God saying, `Mary, I haven`t forgotten you. I`ve been here all along."`
She was overwhelmed.
"Keep your $300.00," I said. "I`ll go to Odessa with you for the hearing."
Mary left and I picked up the phone and called the District Attorney`s office in Odessa. After a ten minute conversation with a young lady who was the Assistant District Attorney in charge of Mary`s case, she said, "I see no useful purpose in pursuing this any further. You need not come to Odessa. I`ll dismiss the case.
My secretary called Mary and asked her to come in the next morning. I told her that her case was dismissed and after she gained her composure, she stuck out her hand and asked, "How can I ever thank you?" Instead of shaking her hand, I said, "It`s OK to hug your lawyer." She did.
There are times when the sum total of God`s dealing with us allows us to be his message. "I`ve been here all along."
This was one of those times.
