How about another tale of Russell, the luckiest man alive? This was the individual who I got a not guilty verdict on a charge of DUI refusal when he refused to take the test. Sometime after that, I got him off on robbery charges when he was caught on videotape taking items out of a warehouse.
Russell was a recurring client, a ne'er do well loved by his momma, who would make one bad judgment after another, and then have someone like me clean it up. His momma would call, and say, "Mr. Tedder, Russell has done such and such and I need you to help him out." Then she, not him, would come up with a fee and once more into the breach we went. In addition to various criminal matter, I did a divorce and maybe a bankruptcy for him.
In this particular instance, Russell had been arrested by the Jackson Police Department for robbing a warehouse. He had been videotaped by the warehouse security cameras taking things out and coming back and getting some more. Open and shut, you would think.
Russell's story was that he was coerced into this by an acquaintance, who had held a gun on him the entire time, albeit off camera. This seemed to me to be a fanciful tale. However, a good criminal defense attorney leaves no possible stone unturned and so I pursued it. Armed with a name and number, I reached out to this young man, and lo and behold, he agreed to come in and see me at my office. (I did not want to visit with this supposedly armed person in his home.)
To my surprise, he confirmed Russell's story! He had indeed held a gun on our hero and induced him to take the goods. I went for broke and asked him if he would sign an affidavit to that effect. He would and did. I made sure all the niceties were followed by my notary, so there would be no question of any impropriety later, and produced an affidavit for the District Attorney to examine. I felt very confident about reasonable doubt, and apparently so did the DA. After some investigation, they dropped the charges against Russell and arrested the other guy.
So, always follow every lead and story your guy tells you, even if you end up down a few rabbit holes. Sometimes, these guys aren't lieing. Sometimes you can find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
Of course, it helps when you represent the luckiest man alive
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Always Think Client Control
Whenever you are going to try a criminal case, you have to always be aware of what your clients are doing in the courtroom, and presentation to their potential audience, which is the jury.
This actually happened to a friend of mine and his law partner, who went on to later become aMississippi Supreme Court judge. They were defending three men accused of robbery. This was in a rural Mississippi County and they and their clients arrived early to do all the last-minute preparations, motions, etc. that always go on in these things. In any event, the three clients were seated out in the main room of the courthouse. This was also where the jury pool was to be seated so the jury could be chosen.
Unfortunately these three geniuses were left to their own devices. As the bailiff was seating the jury pool, which is the group people for whom the12 jurors will be chosen, he was moving them all to one side of the courtroom. When he came upon our three entrepreneurs he asked them "Are you jurors?" To which the brightest of the group replied, "No sir, we're the thieves."
Needless to say, this did away with any pretense of a presumption of innocence, since every single person who would be voting on the guilt or innocence of these three accused heard the declaration of this individual. A plea-bargain was quickly worked out.
What do we learn from this? Always be aware of where your clients are, and who is talking to them. They should be seated near you, or with someone on your team. They should be instructed to speak to no one without getting permission from you first. Furthermore, they should be told about the general procedures, such as there will bailiff in this room sorting out people called for jury duty. Smile and be polite, but do not talk to him or anyone else without getting permission from your lawyer.
This actually happened to a friend of mine and his law partner, who went on to later become aMississippi Supreme Court judge. They were defending three men accused of robbery. This was in a rural Mississippi County and they and their clients arrived early to do all the last-minute preparations, motions, etc. that always go on in these things. In any event, the three clients were seated out in the main room of the courthouse. This was also where the jury pool was to be seated so the jury could be chosen.
Unfortunately these three geniuses were left to their own devices. As the bailiff was seating the jury pool, which is the group people for whom the12 jurors will be chosen, he was moving them all to one side of the courtroom. When he came upon our three entrepreneurs he asked them "Are you jurors?" To which the brightest of the group replied, "No sir, we're the thieves."
Needless to say, this did away with any pretense of a presumption of innocence, since every single person who would be voting on the guilt or innocence of these three accused heard the declaration of this individual. A plea-bargain was quickly worked out.
What do we learn from this? Always be aware of where your clients are, and who is talking to them. They should be seated near you, or with someone on your team. They should be instructed to speak to no one without getting permission from you first. Furthermore, they should be told about the general procedures, such as there will bailiff in this room sorting out people called for jury duty. Smile and be polite, but do not talk to him or anyone else without getting permission from your lawyer.
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