Jan 8, 2020, 8:17 PM

@nyctophiliac said in The Art of Lawyering:

Okay, so I could totally google this but I thought it might be a good topic of conversation here because why not! Some of these questions will likely be really obvious but... I have always wondered...

  1. Jury System. Just why would anyone ever want to be tried by a court of their peers when the majority of our peers aren't all that smart - why not rely on a professional with experience? (Like a Judge!) Does this happen anywhere other than America? What do yall lawyers think about this?

  2. The Gavel. Talk to me about this. ORDER ORDER! BLAM BLAM! Is it just to punctuate that you mean business? What do yall lawyers think about this?

  3. Why did you choose the section of law (family, criminal, etc) that you chose? Or did it choose you?

  4. Bond and bail, what's the difference?

  5. Why on earth did you choose to practice law to begin with? Was it the money or..?

  6. What is the most hilarious case you've worked on?

  7. What is the saddest case you've worked on?

  8. Criminal Justice Lawyer Types: What's the scariest person you've represented?

  9. Would you ever represent someone that is guilty but they wanted you to get them off the hook? Would you lie for them? What's the furthest you'd go?

  10. Do you like arguing? How can you manage to keep your shit together when impassioned?

Thanks in advance for humoring me ❀

  1. Judges are more biased and jaded than juries. Also, in several jurisdictions, including mine, they're elected.

  2. It's a politer version of shooting a gun into the air.

  3. I have a birthday card from someone the state executed.

  4. Bail is a type of bond used to secure release from prison, but in reality they're used interchangeably in the criminal realm.

  5. I met people who were affected by the criminal justice system. So it was either law or armed revolution.

  6. I've had some great interviews. One guy was charged with stealing electricity. From his neighbor. With coathangers.

  7. ...all of them. Maybe the asylum case where my client's husband had been murdered in front of her and her children during a church service.

  8. All my clients have been very well mannered and polite. As a student investigator, I interviewed a few people who were pretty obviously professional murderers. I've never felt unsafe in a corrections center because of the inmates. I'm much more afraid of LEOs.

  9. I'm a criminal defense attorney. Most of my clients are guilty, statistically speaking. Guilt is immaterial to my job, except when I'm pursuing a very specific kind of relief in post-conviction proceedings. My job is to ensure that the constitutional protections afforded to all citizens of the country are afforded to my clients. So yes, I'd represent someone I thought was guilty of rape or murder without losing any sleep. I would not lie to protect my client. I haven't had a capital case yet. I will admit that I do not know what I would do in such a situation. But in other cases, no. I swore an oath and will neither commit nor suborn perjury to the court.

  10. Yes, as everyone here who's interacted with me will attest. I don't practice in court, so it's not much of a problem. It takes a lot to truly anger me, even though I'm constantly irritable, and when I'm truly enraged my hate burns cold. You just keep it bottled until you can release it, like any other professional situation.

ETA: I would and have represented people I suspect are guilty of murder and rape, I should say. And I lose sleep but it's over deadlines