TESTIMONIALS

Re: Commonwealth of Virginia v LM

Dear Carmeta,

On behalf of the entire LM legal defense team I wish to extend our most profound and heartfelt thanks for the services that you rendered on behalf of our mutual client.

I know at times that the going was incredibly difficult, the chasing down of witnesses was hard, time consuming and often met with hostility or a refusal to discuss matters with you. However, despite all the witnesses’ reluctance you never gave up and continued to push on until you were able to secure a statement (good or bad) so that we would all be prepared for trial.

Unfortunately, you are among the unsung heroes of this case. Without you we would never have been able to present the defense as competently and effectively as we did. The trial attorneys seem to get all the glamour, but having worked on your end I know the kudos should be yours as well.

There may be other prosecutions of our young lad, and hopefully, he shall not be as reluctant to assist in his defense as he was in the beginning of this case. I would ask that you keep an open mind to continue with your assistant of our “lost child”. You may have read in the Washington Post, or your paper of preference, that Prince William County wishes to prosecute LM and that Spotsylvania has the opportunity to do so. It seems likely that the Commonwealth will assign the same attorneys as before, only as a cost saving measure and not as a reflection of our abilities to try this case. Speaking for myself, I would happily jump onboard and do this all over again if I have you as a member of our team. Without your assistance and membership on this team the appeal of the case becomes substantially less.

I guess, in an awkward fashion, I am requesting that you keep an open mind towards doing this dance again in the near future.

Again, on behalf of the entire defense team, and our client, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the work that you have put in to this case and I also thank you for making the attorneys look as good as you made them look.

Yours very truly,

MSA

Re: CVA Social Workers

To Whom It May Concern

I am writing to commend the social/investigative work of CVA, licensed social workers (Carmeta Lindo, Principal Owner). By way of background, I have been in private practice for the last fourteen years and I have been a member of the A felony and felony panels throughout that time period. Before entering private practice, I was an ADA with the Kings County DA’s office for more than seven years. I am a past president of the Kings County Criminal Bar Association.

I have worked with CVA on several cases throughout the years and I have always been satisfied with the work they have performed. I first met Carmeta after becoming certified to represent defendants, pursuant to Judiciary Law 35-b, who could face the death penalty. I quickly learned that mitigation specialists are the most important members of a capital defense team. I have worked with CVA on six potential capital cases, including one where the defendant killed five people, and on each occasion we were successful to the extent that the DA did not seek the death penalty against our client. CVA has an extraordinary talent for finding and interviewing witnesses as well as obtaining very old records. CVA has always stayed with the cases after they have been decertified and they have filed some very impressive pre-sentencing memorandums on behalf of these clients. I recently worked with Carmeta and her staff in defense of a client named OG who was charged with strangling his sister. CVA was a valuable part of the defense team that ultimately convinced the DA that our client has falsely confessed and the case against him was dismissed.

Sincerely,

GF

To Whom It May Concern,

CVA Consulting Services, a forensic social work firm, was recently highly recommended to me by a fellow attorney to assist in the preparation of a post-trial, pre-sentencing report.

As an attorney with seventeen years of criminal prosecution and five years at the criminal defense bar, I recognized the need for an artful but comprehensive pre-sentence report like that prepared by an understaffed and overwhelmed probation department. CVA Consulting Services prepared an outstanding report and this evinced a firm dedicated to conducting extraordinary research and detailed interviews. The report was truly of assistance to the defense and the court at the time of sentence.

My client having been convicted after trial of a B Felony was facing a maximum of nine years imprisonment. I consulted with Carmeta Lindo and she agreed to work with me on the submission of this report. With limited time, Ms. Lindo and her staff were able to successfully complete my client’s psychosocial history and submit the report in a timely manner. By submitting this comprehensive report, my client was able to obtain the minimum sentence of two years. The information in the report was also used to encourage the court to recommend that my client be accepted in the department of correction’s six months accelerated “Shock Program”, he was.

Ms. Lindo and her staff proved extremely knowledgeable and professional. Based on their submission, I would unhesitatingly recommend that CVA Consulting Service remain on the list of approved social workers.

Respectfully,

PW