“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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
On Working With An Investigator
One of the frustrations of being a public defender was the need to deal with sometimes unrealistic expectations. You don’t always value what you don’t pay for, and clients would sometimes have unrealistic expectations about what an investigator… Read More
