They Told Me "You Don't Have an Attorney." I Never Waived My Right to One.

On June 7, 2026, I filed another emergency motion in my Harrison County case. This one is about the most basic right there is: the right to a lawyer.

Here is what happened.

I called to ask who my lawyer is

On May 21, 2026, at about 3:27 p.m., I called Harrison County Adult Probation / Pretrial Services with one simple question: who is the attorney assigned to my case? I assumed it was a public defender. Nobody had contacted me.

The answer I got back, on the call, was this:

"You don't have an attorney… you got out of jail before they got you an attorney… so you have to wait for arraignment."

I have never knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived my right to counsel. I asked for a lawyer. I don't have one. And I'm being told to wait.

Why that is a problem

The right to a lawyer is not a technicality. The Supreme Court settled this a long time ago:

• Gideon v. Wainwright — you have the right to appointed counsel in a criminal case.
• Argersinger v. Hamlin and Alabama v. Shelton — you cannot be jailed (even on a misdemeanor, even on a suspended sentence) without counsel or a valid waiver.
• Faretta v. California — giving up a lawyer must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Filing my own emergency paperwork because no lawyer has been appointed is not a waiver.
• Rothgery v. Gillespie County — the right to counsel attaches once you have been brought before a magistrate, told the charge, and your liberty is restricted.

I am under bond conditions. My liberty is restricted. I asked for counsel. By the court's own rules, that right has attached.

The trap

Here is what worries me. At the same time I am being told I do not have a lawyer, I am being directed to report to Pretrial Services — before arraignment, before counsel. And I understand my bond may have been recalled, or that an arrest or custodial issue may exist.

So I am supposed to walk, alone and uncounseled, into an administrative setting where I could be questioned about disputed facts, accused of violations, or even arrested. That is not "routine reporting." That is a back-door way to put my freedom on the line without a lawyer in the room.

I am not refusing supervision. I am not dodging the court. I am asking that anything that touches my liberty happen in open court, with a lawyer.

What the motion asks the court to do

• Confirm that I asked for counsel and have not waived it — and that my own emergency filings do not count as a waiver.
• Process my indigency paperwork and appoint counsel if I qualify.
• Disclose in writing whether any warrant, bond recall, revocation request, violation report, or arrest instruction actually exists.
• Set a hearing before any arrest, bond recall, revocation, or custodial action.
• Do not question me about disputed facts, alleged violations, my online speech, witnesses, firearms, or medical THC without a lawyer present.

Why I am posting this

Because "you don't have an attorney" should never be followed by "now report to us anyway." If they can route a man toward jail through an administrative office before he has ever had a lawyer, they can do it to anyone.

I filed the motion. I attached the transcript of the call. Read it for yourself.

See it for yourself — the complete filing

Here is the entire filing, exactly as I submitted it to the court, with the lines that matter highlighted. These are public court records.

The Motion — emergency motion for appointment of counsel and notice that I have not waived it:

Download the full motion (PDF) →

My sworn Declaration — the same facts, under penalty of perjury:

Download the declaration (PDF) →

The Exhibits — including the transcript of the call:

Download the exhibits (PDF) →

The Proposed Order — what I am asking the judge to order:

Download the proposed order (PDF) →

I am not asking anyone to take my word for it. I am putting the filing in front of you — including the recording of them telling me I have no lawyer.