I Wonder

My husband is a serial television watcher. Most of his favorite shows deal with crime and/or satirical sarcasm. He usually records shows and watch them before bed. While he is watching I am usually glued to my second husband (my laptop), but this night was different. As I was checking emails I was listening to the crime story. The gist of the show is the detectives have 48 hours to collect enough evidence to charge the alleged criminals. As most stories, this episode involved teens who were at the right place doing the wrong thing.
Three teens were in a car. One decided to rob a coach after school. The situation got out of control and the teen shot and killed the coach. The other two teens were held at gunpoint by the alleged killer while assisting in dumping the body in a nearby ditch.

Now of course I have skipped some of the drama that drags the episode out to a full 30 minutes but you get the idea. The teens told on one another. The issue that really bothered me is the detectives used intellectual police jargon which confused the more innocent teens to confessing to something they had no intention of doing. Where were their parents? Most importantly, where was an attorney?

One thing I learned from the show is the importance of having an attorney present not just to defend you, but to also explain and protect your rights. My clients trust that I am going to get the best deals on radio and television advertisements because they have hired a person who speaks media buying language on a daily basis, so why would you not hire an attorney when you have to deal with legal matters.

Jackie Brown, a veteran criminal law attorney, deals with these situations on a daily basis. She states that individuals at a time when they are in legal situations are generally nervous, anxious and definitely not listening closely to how the opposing force may be backing you into a corner. “When I have been retained or appointed on a criminal case, I begin to tear apart the evidence to see if there is a strong case against the defendant. Who are the victims and witnesses? Are they credible or a potential bias witness for the state? Was the search unreasonable and so egregious that a motion to suppress would be granted? Were any of the defendant’s constitutional rights violated, i.e. searches, confessions, Miranda warning. Every case is different. Although some cases will have similar facts, it’s very unlikely that two cases are exactly the same. You have to individualize each case and advise your client accordingly.”

The two teens were charged with the same charge as the killer. Two teens will never finish high school or ever see life outside of prison walls. I wonder how different the outcome would have been if they only had an attorney.

Visit Attorney Jackie Brown’s website at jfbrownattyatlaw.com or on FaceBook

Until,

Anitra