Defense attorney Martin Zimmerman was taken of a case after his client informed the judge that he didn’t enter the plea bargain that would have spared him 20 years behind bars and slept through most of the case.
37 year old Daniel Textor Jr. told District Judge Dib Waldrip that his defense attorney was negligent and careless. He told the judge, “this man has been sleeping though my trial. This is the same man who didn’t even know my name during…choosing my jury. This man said my name was Jonathan Dextor.
Daniel Textor Jr. was arrested for drunk driving on Aug. 8 2010, according to the New York Daily News. Textor accuses Zimmerman of not calling a single witness during his trial and only briefly cross-examining the two prosecution witnesses.
Textor was also accused of “spitting on the arm of a police officer” and faces 60 years in prison along with another 28 years for driving drunk with a minor passenger in the car. Textor had told Zimmerman to “accept the prosecution’s plea deal of 45 years for harassing a public servant and 20 years for DWI.” Textor’s defense attorney Zimmerman never submitted the plea, and Textor resultingly complained to District Judge Dib Waldrip.
Judge Waldrip noted that he was aware of Zimmerman’s “napping tendency,” and told defendant Textor to “file a motion to replace his lawyer.” Textor’s new attorney, Deborah Wigington immediately asked for a new trial. Assistant District Sammy McCrary sympathized with Textor and reinstated his original plea.