Trial

After a couple of weeks of not going to trial, we got another win, but this time we didn't need the jury, nor did we need MJOAs.  Instead we got a nolle pross during the state's direct. 

Here's how it happened; the state had a weak case.  The judge, no dummy, politely pointed out to the state how weak the case was and how she wasn't sure how the state had declared ready, and the state repeatedly announced that they were going forward in good faith, and explained how they thought they would do so.  So we let them. 

We picked a jury cautiously, but figured our real fight would be over a lack of state's evidence or the presence of too much reasonable doubt at MJOA1 or 2, respectively.  There was a possibility we might not even have to cross the officer, if things went as planned.  I did Voir Dire and a non-division CLI opened for us (and gave quite a good opening, refusing to be rattled when the state objected a few times).

Then the state called their first and only witness.  We didn't think the state could prove up their case by any of the theories/avenues that they tried to use when they were arguing their good faith basis to go forward in front of the judge earlier in the day.  So we were determined not to let the state's witness get in a word edgewise on any of those theories, and set to work objecting to just about everything that came out of the state's mouth.  I took the lead on that piece and the Mayor backed me up.  After running smack into the wall of Crawford/hearsay/relevance/403/improper predicate, the state tried to circle back and got hit with a lot of asked and answered/bolstering/relevance and so forth.  At the peak of this the state got visibly frustrated and totally lost her cool in front of the jury.  It didn't help when the officer she was directing started smirking and rolling his eyes at the fact she couldn't ask him any questions (which of course made it very hard not to laugh myself).  We must have had over 20 objections sustained - we certainly had a nice string of about 7 in a row.  Then there was one question where I really didn't have an objection and the officer looked at me, as if for permission to answer, before responding.  I think that was the high-water point for us.   

I don't know what the hell the jury thought of it - all the objections, two curatives, 2 statements stricken, the state being flat-out denied a request to go sidebar in response to one of the objections. . .  One of the CLIs who was watching said it was "a bloodbath."  The Mayor said I was like an AK-47.  (Which shows he's been paying attention - as I'm *so* much more an AK-47 than an M-16.)  It's apparently violent metaphor day.

Eventually it got so bad that in the middle of direct, the state went sidebar and asked to excuse the jury so we could "clear up some issues."  The court did so, and in the course of the ensuing argument the state finally backed down and announced a nolle pross. Which was about 10 hours after they should have done so, when the case was first called in the morning calendars.

Thing is, even if the case had been provable, I think we had a strong shot with a jury.  They seemed like a good bunch, and I loved our client's story.

Still, I do so love those cases where I can get some traction on evidentiary grounds, or through caselaw.  After a loong day of little traction beyond setting tons of cases for trial in the face of abysmal plea offers, it was so satisfying to just back the state into a corner and not let up.  And after we got our guy out, we found a bed for him and drove him off to it.  When I got back home I put on Big Country's King of Emotion and started jumping around my living room singing to it.  It's been that kind of day. 

Another 70-odd cases tomorrow, another trial day.  Wish me luck kids.