Before opening my own firm, I had the honor of serving for 11 years as a prosecutor. I knew that experience would land me in good stead, but I didn’t fully appreciate just how valuable it would be until I started. As a defense attorney, I found that I could offer clients real insight into the hidden parts of prosecution, like how investigations usually proceed or what a prosecutor’s thought process would be. But most of all, I had the courtroom experience to embrace the possibility of trial.
The backdrop of all criminal law is the threat of a trial. While most cases are resolved without trial, the threat of trial lingers, affecting every decision made by both parties. And often the sides will have very different views of the ultimate questions: what would a jury decide? That unknowable uncertainty is often what motivates both parties to resolve a case. But, at the end of the day, if you aren’t willing to go to trial, you’re at the mercy of the other party. And the most valuable thing that my experience as a prosecutor taught me was to not be afraid of trial.
I recently found myself in front of a difficult judge who made it clear that she didn’t like my client. I knew that waiting around for a plea offer and trying to resolve the case was futile; instead, I invoked my client’s right to a speedy trial and set the case for a jury trial. In different circumstances, this would not be a case I would have chose to try, but sometimes trial is the best option. I’d rather go to trial than encourage a guilty plea that isn’t in my client’s best interests.
A jury trial is a daunting prospect for most attorneys, including many criminal defense attorneys. Not for me. After years of trying all types of cases, I know that I can walk into a courtroom, pick a jury, and argue a case to them. This doesn’t mean that I’d advise every client to go to trial–in fact there is often a good reason not to go to trial. But if trial is the best option, I will never be afraid to take it to a jury and fight.