Credibility
As in life, success in trial begins with honesty and genuineness. Credibility is the most important thing – it is so difficult to achieve in a profession where we are distrusted by default, and once achieved it is so very easy to lose. Attorneys, judges, and juries may not give me credit for the hundreds of honest statements I make to them – honesty is and should be the default that is expected – but one mis-step, one mis-statement of law or fact will be remembered and will negatively color everything that comes after.
I should never mislead a judge or opposing counsel – no matter what benefit it gains in the short term for myself or my client, if any, the damage that would be done to my credibility may last the rest of my career. This is not to say that I can’t attack my opponent’s case with a passion, it is to say that the fight must be fair and if it is not a fair fight I must be on the side that is not cheating.
I can never mislead the jury – if the people sitting, listening, watching me from the jury box feel that I am being dishonest, that I am hiding something from them, or that I am trying to trick a witness or even worse, the jurors, I lose and my client who has placed their life and future in my hands loses with me.
It is not a question of being a good liar, of being a slicker salesman than my opponent – if I am not being truthful they will know. Just as, if I look them in the eyes and tell my client’s story with openness, honesty, and integrity, they will know. Every word that I send to the jurors must ring of truth and be grounded in fact.
Credibility wins and loses trials – all else being equal, the jury is going to vote with the person that they trust the most. The attorney on each side has the opportunity to be the jurors’ guide through a confusing and sometimes frightening process and if they do not trust me, they will look to the other side to guide them.
