(202) 549-2374
Meet Bob
Meet my new investigator Bob. I think you will like him. Because every defendant deserves a good defense.
“Imani is my best friend”
The best strategy, I have found, is to begin the conversation with an expression of concern about whatever grievance it was that launched the criminal proceedings to begin with.
Testifying = Snitching?
The witness refuses to testify. “I am not a snitch,” he tells my investigator Wayne and me. “But we am not asking you to snitch on anyone,” I reply. “We are just asking you to testify. To tell the truth about what you saw. We need your testimony for our defense.” When I was growing up, a snitch was someone …
My Client Is Going Home Today
My client – a juvenile — is going home today. I am working with one of my favorite prosecutors on the case. Although hard-line, she is straightforward and ethical. There is no hiding-the-ball with her. She has a light touch. She also has a good sense of humor. The prosecutor waits until I have checked in with the clerk. Then …
What We Talk About On Our Way To A Crime Scene
It turns out that Wayne, my investigator, and I both do the laundry in our households. Apparently, neither of us has a wife who understands that you cannot put whites in with the colored clothes, set the dial to hot water, and then expect to have the whites coming out like they looked before. As I tell my wife, you …
The Gold Standard in Witness Credibility
My investigator Wayne Marshall gets an A+ for his testimony yesterday at trial. Of course, I am biased. Marshall is everything you could want in a witness: He knows his stuff. He is well-spoken, direct, straight-forward. He answers the questions you ask of him and nothing more. He doesn’t try to anticipate what he thinks you want him to …
Confronting the Complainant Before Trial
If you want to get a complainant to speak with you before trial, ask the complainant about his or her injury. People love to talk about how they have been wronged. The floodgate opens. My investigator Wayne and I approach an interview with the complainant as if we are preparing for the Superbowl. After all, in some cases, you only …
On “Constructive Venting” And Wayne My Investigator
Seth Godin writes about a friend of his, a middle school teacher, who avoided the teacher’s lounge because “he couldn’t bear the badmouthing of students, the whining and the blaming”: Just about every organization, every on-line service, every product and every element of our culture now has chat rooms and forums devoted to a few people looking for something to …
Ode to My Investigator
I botched the investigation. I went to the store on Upper Wisconsin Avenue in which my client was alleged to have committed a robbery. While there, I neglected to look for a critical piece of evidence: whether or not there was a surveillance camera over the cash register. As a result, my investigator Wayne Marshall had to go back …
On Hoopties and Shell Stations: The Benefits of Visiting a Crime Scene
Yet another benefit to private practice – as opposed to being a public defender – is that you have more time for investigations. Wayne, my investigator, actually handles most of my on-scene investigations. As a former cop, he knows what he is doing. He has a great way with clients and witnesses. He also knows every Shell station, Seven-Eleven, …