SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD



GALVESTON � A Galveston County Jail inmate seeks to recover more than $4,000 from his former defense attorney, recent court documents say.



In a breach of contract lawsuit filed Oct. 4 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 1, plaintiff Wayne Wright alleges Jyll Reckoff of Galveston "kept him in the dark" about his defense in a pending Galveston County criminal case.



Wright hired Reckoff to represent him in March 2009, according to the original complaint, and paid Reckoff a $3,500 retaining fee and an additional $3,500 for a jury trial.

He claims that over the course of 18 months the limited visits he had with Reckoff "were fruitless and had no legal means whatsoever."



Wright then sought additional assistance from an outside organization.

When the organization contacted Reckoff, she withdrew herself as counselor as an act of retaliation, the suit says, but failed to return the amount Wright paid for the jury trial.

"After numerous grievance proceedings, the matter of the money remains in the air," the suit states.



Reckoff's motion to withdraw as counsel claims there was a conflict of interest between her and Wright, who is representing himself in the suit.



Galveston County Court at Law No. 1 Judge Mary Nell Crapitto is presiding over the case.



Cause No. 63,818