“May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”


"This report is maybe 12-years-old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried till River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew. And they were right to fear because there's a whole universe of folk who are gonna know it, too. They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people. You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, 10, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people . . . better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave." ~ Captain Malcom Reynolds

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Oh, really?

So had a DUI and refusal case come up in court today - nice, clean case, no issues to it at all.

The defense attorney (who I haven't run into before today) starts the fun by asking the prosecutor if they can just plead to a reckless driving charge - with a rapid response of "You're kidding, right?" He then says "Oh, well the judge used to be a defense attorney, I'll get this kicked in five minutes."

Now, while by no means a perfect person, I do pride myself on my DUI cases - I don't make questionable arrests or bring weak crap to court. I have a very good record of convictions on them as well, reflecting the time and effort I put into these things.

So - expecting this guy to try and challenge every bit of the case when it's time to cross examine, I make sure to include all my needed details and statements and such when I'm testifying; doing my job of painting the judge a very clear picture of what took place on the night in question. When it comes his turn to start not only does he not put any evidence on, his "big win" turned into two quick questions which were an attempt to mitigate the apparent attitude of the client as opposed to anything else. The judge then very matter-of-factly declared the guilty findings and imposed the penalties.

I stayed professional, but trust me it was tempting to ask the attorney as I left "So, how'd that plan work out for you?"

3 comments:

suz said...

:)

Daddy Hawk said...

I can hear the post trial conversation between attorney and client now.

Client: "You said it was a sure thing."

Attorney: "Uhhhh...

Client: "UHHHH? That's all you've got Mr. The Judge Used To Be A Defense Attorney?"

Attorney: "I really have to go now."

Client: "Geee, how nice. I wish I could seeing as how I'm sitting here CUFFED on my way to Jail."

Attorney: "I'll send you my invoice for services rendered."

Client: "Services rendered???? Bailiff, your about to witness a murder."

Wandering Soul said...

Where's the like button on Erickson's comment!?! ;)

Glad you won the case. We have a judge down here who is about as liberal as they come. She is known as Judge Hug-a-Thug and, the majority of the time, she sides with the criminals.