Follow the White Rabbit

At some point in time, we all have to trust someone or something. We have to make that leap of faith. We have to follow the white rabbit. This is true whether you're ordering a White Chocolate Mochiatto with Extra Whip (whatever the hell that really is) or you listening to your friendly neighborhood criminal defense attorney. At some point, you have to trust.

At some point in every criminal case, from the simplistic to the most complex, there will be a time when the attorney will be put in the position of advising the client on a crucial matter. It's just part of it. If it didn't happen that way, there would be no need for the criminal defense attorney. If there were no need for the attorney to advise the client in such an area, the client would otherwise not be able to effectively maneuver through the system. If there was no need for that advice, then I could stop doing what I'm doing and do what I really wanted to do; play second base for the Tigers.

But as it turns out, the system is not really as easy as many would have you believe. There will come a time in every case where the client has to trust the attorney. It's not easy. I understand that. No one trusts someone instinctively. It doesn't work that way. But it has to be done. To hire a criminal defense attorney and then not trust them when the decision-making time comes is a waste. It's a waste of your money, and it's a waste of my time.

Potential clients generally fall into one of three categories; those that know they want to go to trial, those that know they want to plead their case out, and those that have no clue what to do. Of the three, I will choose the latter every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Why? Because I know they want to hire me to help them through the system, and not to simply concur with their own decision.

As attorney, we all have that group of cases that we don't like to deal, and if we are lucky, we refuse to deal with. For Bennett, it's cooperators. For Greenfield, it's child sex cases. For Gideon, well, Gideon doesn't really get to choose. (Sorry man.) For me, the biggest of those categories is the client that simply wants to "do a quick plea."

You see, every so often, I will get a potential client that will sit in my office and tell me all about their case and listen as I explain all the particulars of the ramifications of their case. Then, at some point, they tell me that they really just want a quick plea. They may sit through the entire interview, but many times they will interrupt and simply ask how much I would charge to "just plead them to probation." At that point, I tell them thank you, but I'm not the attorney for them. When they ask why, I tell very simply. Anyone with a law license can walk you into court and plead you out. When a client hires me, they are hiring a certain skill set. The ability to effectively represent them whether at trial or through a plea bargain. But I don't accept cases just to walk them into court on the first setting and plead them to the State's/ Government's offer.

The point is, when you hire a criminal defense attorney, there will be some give and take. You will give the attorney information, and he will give you advice on the situation. Inevitably, there will be a point in time during the case where the advice from the attorney will be about an issue that the client would not otherwise be able to make a decision. This is the very essence of the job. If you're not hiring an attorney to advise you on what to do, what the hell are you hiring an attorney for? At some point, when you're told to, you're just going to have to follow the white rabbit.