But For the Grace of God Go I

I just represented a witness in a criminal case. She was subpoenaed to testify against her husband who is charged with distributing drugs. She agreed to testify in spite of her right to invoke her spousal immunity. During our interviews and her interviews with the government in preparation for her testimony I was struck by how intelligent this woman is. She answered the questions posed to her perfectly. She had such clarity. On the stand, she was brilliant. She was honest, direct. She said everything she needed to say without crossing any lines. The prosecutor and I talked about how smart she was. His comment was, “Under any other circumstances, she would have been a doctor or a lawyer.” My response to him was, “That’s why I do what I do. Because but for the grace of god go I.”

This woman didn’t have a chance. Her mother was a heroin addict and her father was an alcoholic. They are both deceased as a result of their addictions. My client was a drug dealer for many years, went to prison and has now been clean for 6 years. I have had so many clients who have tragic life stories that led them to a life of drugs. I’ve heard story after story after story of lives you can’t imagine. I have argued at sentencing over and over to the judges sitting high up on their benches in their marbled courtrooms, “My client did not have the advantages you and I had. We had the benefits of great parents, good homes, an education. They weren’t given those things. They never had a chance and but for the grace of god go you and I.”

So when people ask me, “How do you defend people?” I say, “Because but for the grace of god go I.” Readmore »»

Loss of Benefits - Loss of Reason

I have a client who has been charged with aiding and abetting her husband conduct two drug transactions over a three month period over three years ago. The agents who arrested her have recorded phone calls which prove her involvement. Since that time my client has been working full time supporting her three children who can’t live without her. She has never used drugs. Her husband is already in jail and will be serving a mandatory minimum of 10 years in Federal Prison for his conduct.

As a consequence of her conviction, my client will lose all state benefits including food stamps. This is standard operating procedure. The prosecution wants her to serve approximately 24 months in federal prison.

This means that defendant will lose her job. When she gets out of prison, she will not be able to get her job back and it will be very difficult for her to find a decent job because she will be a convicted felon. AND she will not be eligible for any benefits to help feed her children.

How does this benefit society? Does it not just perpetuate the cycle of crime? Readmore »»

Not Guilty

We hear stories on the news all the time about people who have allegedly committed crimes. Whether they are alleged terrorists, celebrities or other individuals, we are often inundated with news about the alleged offenses. These people are never presumed innocent by the media. In fact, they are basically convicted by the media before they ever make their first appearance in court. You will often hear newscasters report, "So and so pled not guilty today." This is almost always said in such a way as to imply that it is absolutely shocking that this person had the audacity to plead not guilty! So let me set the record straight. That is how the court process works. During either a first appearance in state court or a second appearance in Federal court, a defendant (an individual charged with a crime of which they are pressumed innocent unless proven guilty) always enters a plea of not guilty. This is done regardless of whether they intend to plead guilty at a later stage in the proceeding or whether they intend to persist in their plea of not guilty and force the prosecution to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. So next time you hear a newscaster say that someone pled not guilty remember that that is the way things are done. Readmore »»