Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Frustration

You know what is frustrating? When you spend forever arguing, begging, pleading, and using all your other tools of persuasion to get a prosecutor to give you a particular deal, but the prosecutor will only offer you X years. So, you go talk to your client and explain what the offer is, and your client yells at you, "Why you trying to give me X years?"

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The Problems with Eyewitness IDs

The Dallas Morning News did a very interesting investigative series on the problems with eyewitness identification and how they were major factors in the wrongful convictions of 18 of the 19 DNA exonerees in Dallas County. It is a MUST read for anyone involved in the criminal justice system. I wish it were a MUST read for everyone about to sit on a jury, but, sadly, that is not to be.

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One Xanax Pill

Update: Morning of trial and super-longshot motion to suppress . . . prosecutor agreed to recommend year and a day with the statement that the defendant's violation was de minimis and make no further argument on sentencing and we could argue for an exceptional downward sentence (one below the minimum under the sentencing guidelines) . . . I recommended the client take the deal . . . we asked for 90 days (minimum under the guidelines was year and a day) . . . judge gave him . . . 90 DAYS! Woohoo!

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Possessing one Xanax pill without a prescription should not get you a year and a day in state prison no matter how many prior felony convictions you have. Also, it does not make me feel better when a prosecutor tells me that he wishes he could do something better for me, and that he feels bad that he can't do better. If you wish you could do something better and you feel bad that you can't do better, then DO SOMETHING BETTER!

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