Another child murdered......Lawyers, please chime in.

Lawyers, like myself, can defend criminals because everyone deserves a fair trial. Our society is based on this premise and we cannot abrogate it depending on how horrific the alleged crime is. In cases such as this, unless the charge of intentional homicide in the first degree (many attorneys will take a murder one charge to trial just to try to convince the jury it wasn't murder one but a lower charge of murder), there's little to no chance it will go to trial given the proof is really that strong. The odds are the attorney won't fight like he would if he believed the person to be innocent, but everyone deserves the process be fair. The attorney, in clear cases, is only there to make sure the constitutional and statutory rights of the victim were not and are not violated.

Mark

 

This story is getting world wide press mate. All over the news here in Australia.

So sad, she was such a gorgeous little girl too!!

 

It's very sad. I was surprised I didn't see it talked about too.

If it was an "accident" why was she stuffed in a suitcase and thrown in a pond?

 

This is the kind of stuff that makes crucifixion seem not so cruel or unusual.....

 

Honestly, whoever gets assigned this case will probably achieve some level of "fame" and his/her career will benefit from it. When it comes to these cases, the name of the game is to not get personally attached. You have to remain detached enough to not let the case get personal. What I mean by that I can only define with an example. When you are trying a case, you will lose some motions or objections, that's a given....when I say you cannot take it personally, you have to not allow yourself to be so attached to the case that the loss of a motion or objection actually causes you anger against the opposing attorney. Emotions and feelings always come into play, but those emotions and feelings cannot be allowed to cloud your judgment or the manner about which you address the case.

Simply because the case is high profile, there will not be a young or new prosecutor on the case. There is too great of a chance that a younger, less experienced attorney could muff something that could cause evidence to be kept out thereby hurting the prosecutions case and causing the DA's office to lose face in the media. The defendant will have a very seasoned attorney and the DA's office will not want a mismatch of lawyering (even if the defendant has an appointed defender, he/she will be very senior and well seasoned).

Cases like this can make someone's career purely because they generate so much media. I am fortunate enough to know some very high profile criminal attorneys. Example: I know the guy who defended Dahmer (made his career and his kid's career simply for being associated with him later on down the road). Don't get me wrong, the guy's a great attorney, but his career never would have been what it was/still is without that case.

Mark

 

It's an old saying Peter, "There is no such thing as bad publicity."

 

This is exactly right. Think about who will be hiring that "scumbag" defense attorney in the future. It is not the housewife who throws a fit when he represents a criminal defendant. The people hiring that attorney are other criminal defendants.

Additionally, people in the legal community do not note who you represent (well they do but it is not what you will be remembered for), but they do note the job you do in the courtroom or in pre-trial. Good lawyering is good lawyering no matter who you represent. In the legal community you achieve "fame" but good lawyering; in the public you achieve "fame" by getting your name mentioned on TV...that's just how it is. Some of the worst/most unethical attorneys I know are the most wealthy. They advertise and get people tons of clients to hire them simply on their commercials. They will get settlements purely because the facts are in their favor not because they are good attorneys.

Mark

 

Personally I think she's guilty and should be put into a suitcase and thrown into a sewage treatment plant's tanks.

That said I also know for a fact that people on Death row have been proven totally innocent and exonerated by DNA testing so I certainly understand the need for lawyers.


The Rape part of this is truly bizarre, sick and sad.

 

When's the last time you saw anything good in the media?

Nancy Grace and Greta Van Sustren talk about these types of events every single day of every year. It's sickening, imo, that the media video tapes the crime scenes and funerals and the loved ones in their most vulnerable state.

 

There is another not so old quote about the media, "If it bleeds, it leads."

 

I understand the need for a fair defense and someone has to do it. If all the facts are true in this case it would be hard for me to feel any mercy toward the plaintiff. There is no excuse for such a thing to happen.

 

This type of thing, and worse, has been happening since the beginning of time. Happens all the time in all societies.

If it makes you feel any better, murders are actually down quite a bit. But you won't hear much of that in the press. If you ask, most people will say crime is up and our society is uncivil and deteriorating. Truth is, the opposite is true. Probably the only good effect of our ever increasing police state.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/hmrt.htm

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/house2.htm

 

Mark already gave good answers, but I'll add a few points. I don't take criminal cases right now, but have handled a few matters in the past and some of my good friends do "crim def."

- Many states have an assignment system for private attorneys to take excess that the public defender's office can't handle. They get a monthly stipend and/or hourly compensation from the state (there are also federal court assignment systems which are hourly). But they can't really get out of cases or choose them. You take what you get and there you go.

- Most criminal cases are 'losses' for the record. "Wins" of dismissal and acquittal on larger felonies are rare - it's not like civil litigation where plaintiffs and defendants usually have at least a handful of good facts on each side (too much on one side leads to settlement - in crim def, that will lead to plea deals). In crim def have to develop a thick skin about losing.

- Crim def attorneys don't like their clients. These aren't usually people you want to hang out with - in fact, it's good advice to avoid your clients after hours for obvious reasons and public appearances.

- The high profile assigned cases do bring attention, publicity and can lead to paying clients in future. Really, the gold for a crim def atty is not track cases but either white collar cases, people with family members to bail them out (although this is damped ever since HELOCs died... many people remortgaged for family members' defense), or people who are in organizations that can pay cash for defense. Don't forget that in exchange for the publicity, many defense attorneys are hated by the public and even get death threats; people confuse the attorney with the client.

 

This is all exactly correct as well. If you do criminal defense, you have to remember, your name is going to be in the paper associated with a whole lot of people who you don't want to be associated with. White collar is the best area of defense to get into solely because your clients have the money to pay. Drug defendants usually pay too...nothing like taking my bosses deposits to the bank for him; 20k in all ones and fives. Always fun when one turns up fake too.

One thing Ryan didn't mention was aside from having a thick skin because you'll rack up losses faster than the Brewers this year, a whole lot of your clients are going to bring post-conviction motions claiming ineffective assistance because they're in jail and have nothing else to do. If you cannot take your strategic decisions being challenged, it's not the area of law for you.

In Wisconsin, overflow public defender appointments are given out a couple of different ways.

1) Misdemeanors are contracted out to private attorneys on a flat fee basis; you "bid" to take a certain number of cases a year for a certain flat fee per case. Typically the range is $250-350 a case depending on the firm or attorney's experience.

2) Felonies are given on a random basis to more senior attorneys contracted with the PD's office for an hourly fee of $40 an hour.

As you can see, in WI, young attorneys taking PD appointments don't make any money at all after overhead costs. Because of this, most kids out of school who work for a crim def firm don't make more than $30k a year. Kind of ruins the perception of "rich attorney" doesn't it.

Mark

 

Perhaps this is a bit idealistic, but I feel those who defend the truly evil are also defending the rights afforded all who are accused of crimes. The Bill of Rights is not a "technicality," even when it works for creatures like this animal.

 

Wow. Here IIRC it's double that. In Boston it was only like $45/hr for muni.

 

Slightly off topic...

There was some girl on Oprah yesterday that was kidnapped at the age of 14, for a sex slave...

She was chained via a dog collar to a cement floor...

Tortured with car batteries...

Raped repeatedly, and beaten...

Guy bragged to one of his freinds about the kidnapping, and got reported. She was saved after 4 days... Good looking girl, seems mentally stable... still...


Guess how much time the guy got in jail????
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18 years, with parole anticipated to cut this in half...
Seems he got off very easy...

Having the right lawyer makes all the difference...