South Carolina Criminal Defense Blog

There is no one secret to winning your case. I devour all information from all persons wiser than me who are willing to share their winning trial strategies, and I believe each person must adapt their knowledge and their own individual style to each case. I am a work in progress and probably will always be, but here is some of what I have picked up thus far:

1) Learn from others who know more than you do. Learn cross examination skills from Pozner and Dodd. Learn DUI defense from Larry Taylor. Learn to be real from Gerry Spence. Watch other lawyers try cases every chance you get (if only to see how not to do it, sometimes).

2) Experience > all. Try cases. You don't have to win every case, and unless you are able to cherry-pick your cases and have enormous amounts of time and resources you won't win every case. If you're not losing cases, you're not trying cases.

3) Know the law. In South Carolina we have a thing called E-blast, which is a mass email that contains the advance sheets. I read every criminal decision as they are released, and try to blog about the important ones, because it helps to solidify them in my mind. I read and re-read the statutes clients are charged with every time I open a new case.

4) As Gideon says, preparation is key to everything that you do in the courtroom. If you worked nights and weekends preparing your case for trial and covering every base, odds are you are miles ahead of the other guy. If it comes down to who the jury trusts at the end of the day, they may be more likely to trust the attorney who knew the case inside out and conveyed confidence throughout the trial. If it comes down to who the judge trusts, he or she may look to the attorney who knew the case law and was not making it up as he went.

5) It is best to win without fighting. Preparation and investigation long before trial can often help to persuade the prosecutor to dismiss your case, or to make you an offer you cannot refuse. If your prosecutor is trustworthy, put your evidence together early and lay it out for them; give them a reason to not take your case to trial.

6) We are storytellers. Improve your ability to tell your clients' stories, and do so every chance you get, to the prosecutor, to the judge, and ultimately to the jury. Always have a theory that you present to the jury, because if you do not the jury has no choice but to absorb the prosecutor's theory.

7) Tell your client's story through the prosecution's witnesses. Facts that support your theory have a much greater impact when they are heard from the prosecution's witness and not your own. Whenever possible, prepare cross-examinations first and work outwards from them.

8) Most importantly, care about your client and what happens to them. If the man sitting next to me is "my friend, John," as opposed to "the defendant," the jury will be less likely to convict them, and the judge will be less likely to hammer them at sentencing. Let the jury see that you believe in your client and your case, and possibly they will believe in your client as well.

I am interested in reading others' opinions on the topic as well, and at Gideon's request I'll link to three bloggers I would like to hear from - the paid defense attorney, the public defender, and why not a prosecutor as well:

Underdog John Katz;
Hostis Civitas; and
Western Justice.