Drug use a lifestyle… a lonely one
By Bob Robinson

GETTYSBURG – “It’s kind of sad when your best friend ends up being your lawyer,” said Paul Wagner, a local attorney who is often in Darke County Common Pleas court defending someone accused of a drug related offense. “It has to be a very lonely existence.”

Wagner’s job is to find out what led to his client’s arrest… the defendant’s version and the prosecution’s. The prosecutor’s case can often include testimony from someone his client thought was a friend.

“There has to be a sense of betrayal; you can’t trust anyone, you feel isolated… who do you turn to? You don’t know what to do so you do more drugs.”

Wagner said for some drug use is almost a lifestyle. It’s a criminal activity so it’s a narrow path. Sometimes the person who betrays the defendant can be a brother or sister, or a friend or relative… the same person who may have gotten him involved in drugs in the first place.

Wagner, who has offices in Gettysburg and Greenville, has been in practice for 16 years. He works with his clients in order to prepare their defense, which gives him a look into their backgrounds and circumstances. Something the general public may not know about or understand.

Wagner, along with David Rohrer and Randy Breaden, belong to ILDF (Indigent Legal Defense Fund), a non-profit entity that contracts with Darke County to provide defense services for those who can’t afford them. Rather than assigning an attorney from the local Bar Association, the judge can choose an attorney who has contracted with the ILDF.

“If any of my clients (in this area) are private pay it’s someone else footing the bill,” he said. “Someone on meth or something like that isn’t usually functioning very well.”

Wagner noted drug addiction impacts people in all walks of life. Self-medication is one of the areas he sees… heroin used for psychotropic drugs, pain medications.

“The doctor may have prescribed prescription drugs, but heroin is cheaper.”

Darke County Chief Deputy Sheriff Mark Whittaker had noted the county could benefit from an inpatient facility that would provide a treatment opportunity before someone gets into the legal system. Wagner agreed, adding however the difficulty comes with funding.

“If they can’t pay their lawyer, they wouldn’t be able to pay for something like this. It would have to come from the taxpayers.” Wagner noted if the expenses of all the legal steps in prosecuting and punishing someone were taken into account, an inpatient facility might be less expensive.

“It would become a treatment problem, not a law enforcement problem.” He pointed out this had merit but it wasn’t a new discussion. It had been tossed around before.

Wagner said his job is to let his client know his rights, determine what a trial might look like and advise the options. The client makes the decision. He doesn’t go to trial very often; only three times in 2013. Something that happens a little more often is a “motion to suppress.” If Wagner believes a piece of evidence was taken or is being used in violation of a client’s constitutional rights, he either resolves it with the prosecution or files a motion. This typically happens 10 to 20 percent of the time.

Wagner was born and raised in Darke County; his practice has been local. He sometimes finds himself defending two generations of the same family.

“Things tend to run like that,” he said. “First the dad, then 10 years later the kid.”

In addition to criminal work, Wagner does bankruptcy, real estate and some debt collection and estate work

Published courtesy of The Early Bird