Not So Funny Now: Defense Attorneys Are Serious
On the twisting Ohio River is a shinning city. In this bustling metropolis is a office tower. In the massive building is a conference room with a view of the river. In the chair across from a terrified man sits a Cincinnati Criminal Defense attorney. This frightened man has told his fair share of lawyer jokes and has often ridiculed the profession of law. Today this Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer is his best friend in the universe. This lawyer is his only hope to get a normal life back.
The man was in the wrong place at the wrong time and with many bad reasons to be there. He didn’t kill his business partner in a fit of rage, but somebody did. The partner was having an affair with his wife, embezzling cash from the business, accusing his son of stealing, black mailing his brother and laughing in his face. He had reason to kill and his dna and finger prints were all over the condo. The partner was shot with a 9 mm glock, the same kind of hand gun that the man used on the pistol range two weeks ago. The prosecutor wasted no time in suggesting a plea bargain that would spare him the death penalty but put him away for life. The circumstantial case was overwhelming. The lawyer suggested it might be his only real option. The man refused the deal, he knew he was innocent. The lawyer was delighted because he liked impossible challenges. The lawyer didn’t ask if the man was innocent because he didn’t really care. The lawyer knew the man would say he was innocent, he just wouldn’t know if it was the truth or a lie.
A defense attorney sets out to explore the evidence and discovers the weaknesses of the case against the client. It is a matter of reviewing all of the discovery and determining if the evidence has enough holes that reasonable doubt can be established. Most defense attorneys have to walk a tight rope, balancing facts with supposition, creating possibilities, finding alternative theories and inspiring doubt. Rarely does a defense lawyer embrace a client like a friend or brother. The bond between client and lawyer is simple; get the defendant to walk free or at least get the best deal possible. Can murder one be reduced to a lesser charge? That might be a victory.
Sometimes, in the service of a client’s interest, a lawyer establish their own dislike for the person. They want to suggest that this person, no matter how unpleasant, needs the jury to provide blind justice based on the law, not on popularity. The man accused of murder is counting on his lawyer to turn an impossible situation around. The lawyer is tasked with looking at the facts, as they are and navigating the best path through the legal system.
A good lawyer will orchestrate a defense that forms the facts into a good narrative to present to the jury. A competent attorney will anticipate the strength and weakness of the prosecutions case. A good lawyer can mean the difference between life as a free person and capital punishment. If he survives, the man won’t tell anymore lawyer jokes.
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