Not Guilty! (Finally!)
As twitter followers and rss readers already know, I finally won a jury trial yesterday! Whoohoo! It was a two-witness, felony DUI trial that turned into a 2-day affair. The second day started w/closing arguments, then the jury began deliberating … and asking questions Ã¢â‚¬â€ť seven of them. Jurors kept wanting more information but the judge kept telling them to rely on the evidence presented. Finally, after four hours, they came back w/the Not Guilty!
The clerk read the verdict: “We the jury, duly impaneled and sworn, do hereby find the defendant Not Guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol.”
It’s hard to think of other moments in life that could be better than those seconds right before the actual verdict, the verdict itself, and then the next second where you can actually exhale. It happened so fast I could barely believe it was real.
Obviously, this was terrific news for my client, but also for me. It was a huge relief because, if the verdict had been guilty, my client would have been subject to our 2-strikes law and a mandatory minimum 5-life in prison. (I kid you not.) So obviously it’s terrific that he no longer has that hanging over his head. But it’s also a huge relief for me personally because, well, basically it proves I can win at trial. I know it won’t happen every time, or even most of the time, but it’s just good to know that it can happen. And I know that there are many skills necessary to be a good public defender, trial isn’t the only measure of success by a long shot, etc. I know all that. But I also know that it feels really good to win. ;-)
February 21st, 2008 at 10:49 am
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I’m so happy for you! (and your client)
February 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
“Best DWI Attorney Vs A Public Defender”? Public defender, definitely.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Congratulations! That’s great! I had a similar experience in a multi-defendant case. My client’s verdicts were read last. After hearing all the guilty verdicts of the co-defendants, I was not hopeful and had my head down. Then I heard the first Not Guilty…
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Congratulations to you!
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Way to Go! There’s nothing like it, is there?
February 29th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Woot woot!! Way to go. What did you client blow?
March 1st, 2008 at 9:58 am
PBT was .261, but there’s almost no way that could have been accurate b/c he looked and sounded completely sober on the video. Jury also didn’t learn the PBT – not admissible w/o serious expert and tons of foundation. PBTs aren’t admissible anywhere, are they?
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Please accept my belated but very sincere congrats!!!