My Lawyer Says We're Not Done, My Dad's Lawyer Says We Are. Am I Being Taken For A Ride?

Location: California

I called the DA's office and they said they've decided not to file on my case. My father got the same thing, they decided not to file. My father's lawyer told him the matter's settled and he no longer has to do anything. My lawyer is making me drive nearly an hour to the courthouse for an arraignment that I was told from the DA's office was canceled. The victim was delivered a letter from the DA saying they're not going to file charges. My lawyer is telling me to come back to court on the day that the bail expires. When I told my dad's lawyer about this, he started laughing about how unnecessary it is.

My father and I were arrested for domestic violence. Of course, we asserted we were innocent, and got lawyers. I got my lawyer first from a recommendation, he's got glowing reviews. I gave him a summary of what I was facing and felt like my situation was bs, and gave me a discount for his services. He said he didn't recommend taking on both of us, since it could be a conflict of interest. He said we could waive it if we wanted, and represent both of us, but he didn't think it was a good idea. He said he needed to talk to the DA about my situation and set up an appointment for my witnesses to give affidavits.

My dad got a lawyer a little while later, who's also got glowing reviews. He offered to take us both on for the price of one, and said we needed to rush to get in contact with the DA. He instructed me to tell our witnesses to write letters to submit to the court asap, either that day or the next, because the DA could choose to file at any moment between then and our court date. I got him the letters the next day, he submitted them, and told us he was going to keep tabs on them.

He told us he'd check every other day, but we still called him once a week to be safe. In the meantime, my appointment finally came and my witnesses gave their statements. I asked when they'd submit the letters, and my lawyer told me he was going to talk directly with the DA as soon as he could. A few days after the affidavits were made, my dad got a call from his lawyer congratulating him, saying the DA chose not to submit his case. He wasn't allowed to check on mine, since he wasn't my lawyer, so he gave me the filing number and a phone number to call so I could ask the DA's office directly. I asked my lawyer's assistant about it, he said he needed the case number, which I gave him. He also asked which DA was taking my case, since my lawyer still needed to talk to him, to which I didn't know. He said the number wasn't working and took some of my info that could be used to look me up in the system. He told me it still wasn't over for me, and said the DA's office would call him once it was, and then he'd let me know.

My court date kept getting closer, and closer, and I was asking my lawyer's assistant every few days for any updates, which he kept telling me there were none. A week before my date, I called the DA's office myself, gave them the filing number (which worked), and they told me they decided not to file. The next day, the victim got a letter saying the DA apologizes, but they aren't going to file the case. I let my lawyer know, and requested another update, to which I was told there still was no news, and to come to court on that date. The next day, they told me they finally submitted the affidavits.

I went to court, it's about an hour's drive and I had to take the day off work to go. I didn't know what to do, and was told by the staff to check the docket. I wasn't there. Eventually my lawyer's assistant met up with me, he did some checking around, and was only told when the bail bond would be released, which would basically be the time limit for anything to happen. So he told me to come back on that day, but I was probably going to be alone, since he and my lawyer had other things to do on that day. I was also told that they were going to be regularly contacting the DA's office to get info on my case.

I called my dad's lawyer and told him about my situation, to which he started laughing hysterically. He told me that lawyers don't talk to the DA, and aren't likely to know which one's working on the case. He also told me that the affidavits are overkill for the exact same result, since they couldn't be used as evidence and getting letters on my behalf probably would've been enough. And I was also informed that I could call the day before to find out if I have to go to court, and I didn't have to go in person. The reason I had called him wasn't for myself, it was because my father wanted to get the incident reports, to which he said it wasn't a good idea as that would just bring more eyes to our case and could make the DA change their mind. So now I'm worried that my lawyers constantly probing the DA might make them decide to file. He was also wondering about what work they actually did, since nothing got done until we were told that the DA decided not to file.

My lawyer said that my father's situation and mine are different, because there's video in my case (I had to restrain a family member who was trying to attack me with a knife, but the video was selectively edited to only show me restraining him). And that the DA has a year to change their mind to file. But then, wouldn't them constantly poking him about my case increase that likelihood? Is my lawyer taking me for a ride?