Defense of Unpopular CLients Essential in Criminal Justice
To win in court, an attorney must present a coherent defense theory _ something for which many lawyers gave low marks to Simpson’s defense team.
Attorneys also must remember to speak plain English to jurors who may not understand legal and technical terms.
Expert witnesses hired by prosecutors can be a special problem for underfunded defense lawyers. Michael E. Tigar of Austin, Texas, defined an expert witness as “someone who wasn’t there but for a fee will gladly imagine what it must have been like.”
The idea, Tigar said, is to come up with your own theory and try to get the prosecution’s expert to admit that it is consistent with the physical evidence.
If all else fails, there always is “jury nullification” _ persuading at least some jurors to vote for acquittal simply because they disagree with the law.
Because jurors are sworn to uphold the law, attorneys cannot openly urge them to override it. But Tony Serra of San Francisco said lawyers sometimes can get the result they seek by expressing moral outrage, particularly in cases involving self-defense, government informants or claims that the defendant was entrapped.
“These are the cases where you bring Shakespeare into the court,” Serra advised. “The beauty of the jury is their morality. Tap into it.”
And one of a defense lawyer’s most important jobs is to humanize the defendant in front of the jury.
“From the moment you walk into the courtroom you are the defendant’s only friend,” Tigar said.
“Seize the defendant, grab hold of the defendant and underscore the defendant’s humanity,” added Michael Kennedy of New York. “If you’re embarrassed about it, find another line of work.”