City of Mobile Hires Contract Attorneys to Represent Indigent Defendants

Jan 23rd, 2017

Mobile, Ala. - The Mobile Municipal Court has appointed five contract attorneys to represent indigent defendants. The newly appointed attorneys are Lisa Bumpers Deen, Donald Burton, John Adams, J.D. Coaxum and Moshae Donald.

Four of the attorneys will serve in the court for two and a half days per week and will spend an additional two days on case preparation and client interviews. The one metro jail contract attorney will attend jail hearings three afternoons each week in addition to being on call for initial appearances.

“In the City of Mobile, we strive to punish crime, not poverty,” said Mayor Stimpson. “I am confident that these attorneys will provide fair representation for every citizen who walks into our courtroom. Each defendant will now be able to develop a relationship with their attorney and know that they have their best interests at heart.”

Moshae Elise Donald is a native of Mobile, Alabama. In 2008, she received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and graduated summa cum laude. Donald attended Vanderbilt University Law School where she graduated in 2011. Her practice experience includes work with one of the largest civil defense firms in Mobile, a boutique firm specializing in family law and criminal defense, the Department of Justice-ATF, Vanderbilt University’s General Counsel’s Office, City of Prichard as a Criminal Prosecutor, and Mobile County Public School System as a teacher. Attorney Donald handles cases in state and municipal courts in Mobile and Baldwin Counties and has represented hundreds of indigent adults and children in criminal proceedings.

J.D. Coaxum was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. He went to college on an athletic scholarship playing football for Troy University. He later finished his career at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. Afterwards, Coaxum returned to Alabama where he attended the Birmingham School of Law and earned his Juris Doctorate. After passing the Alabama State Bar Exam, Coaxum relocated back to his hometown Mobile, AL where he now practices law in a partnership with his brother, attorney Louis Coaxum, at the Coaxum Firm LLC.

John W. Adams, Jr. is a native of Mobile, Alabama. He is a 1990 graduate of the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University School of Law and a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University A. B. Freeman School of Business in 1994. Adams has served as a municipal judge part-time since 2003, and he has also served as a special appointed judge on occasions. Adams has practiced in state and federal courts, focusing on civil lawsuits and criminal matters, and has served a range of client interests including individuals, corporations, and local and state government.

Donald Burton was raised in Hartselle, AL and later moved to Florence, AL where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Alabama. Donald was a business professional for 10 years prior to pursuing a law degree. In 2013 he graduated from Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL where he was a member of the Board of Advocates, the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and served with the Black Law Students Association in local and national capacities. Donald is a member of the Alabama Bar Association and has a wide-range of experience including corporate contracts, non-profit organizations, civil rights, property law, legal research, and criminal law gained from his time working with the Federal Defenders Office of the Alabama Middle District.

Lisa Bumpers Deen is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Mississippi College School of Law and has been a practicing attorney in Mobile for 8 years. In 2008 she started her own firm, Lisa Bumpers, Attorney at Law, and is currently an associate attorney with Deen Law, P.C. with a practice specializing in criminal defense and criminal appeals.