Secrets are not involved in obtaining victory for Virginia criminal defendants, or are they?

Secrets (S’s) are not needed for a great Virginia criminal lawyer to obtain victory in court. Or are they? As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that there are no S’s to how to execute the approaches and moves for obtaining great court results. Then again, there are no S’s  to chess, either, at least not in the rules. Nonetheless, what sets apart a Virginia criminal lawyer who succeeds in court and one who does not, is the internalization that the key components to obtaining the best possible outcome in court are easy enough to understand, but profound to put into practice, just as anyone can learn the rules of chess, but might still get decimated by a chess champion in only a few moves.

What secrets do Virginia criminal lawyers use to obtain victory in court?

If any secrets do exist for successful Virginia criminal defense, a substantial portion of that stems from the necessity that so many of us accept to hanging, bonding and brainstorming together, lest we hang separately. So often, Virginia criminal defendants and their lawyers at first perceive that they have limited evidence and law to help them. And then, as the criminal defense lawyer internalizes the client’s case and discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and strategy of the case with relevant lawyers and non-lawyers, the eureka appears.  Even if not a magic bullet, that eureka helps invigorate the criminal defendant and his or her lawyer to keep pursuing the defendant’s best defense.

Great Virginia criminal defense gets beyond the scripts and veneer, and gets right to the very heart of the matter

Plenty of prosecutors — and even criminal defense lawyers — sound scripted, to the point that a federal prosecutor unintentionally lampooned that by seemingly reading his closing argument word for word to a jury. Even when some prosecutors return from seminars teaching them to be less scripted, some of them sound scripted to the seminar’s script, including how I heard one of them loop the previous answer into his question to the police officer (yes, I exaggerate): “So after you exited your vehicle and contacted the TA [the trading as, or business], what did you do next?” Of course it sounds overly scripted to incorporate law enforcement-ese into a prosecutor’s questions, than communicate as just folks: “After you arrived at the incident scene, what did you do first? At least what those of us (like I) have learned from the decades-old (and very competitive to be accepted into the programs when I applied) two week Trial Practice Institute of the National Criminal Defense College and four-week Trial Lawyers College — and it works excellently when well applied — is to persuade by telling the most persuasive story of the criminal defendant’s case at every stage of the trial, and to drop the legalese and any stilted approach through the criminal defense lawyer’s putting himself and the witness in the present moment, mood and setting, including through the power of psychodrama. If secrets exist in this vein, it is about the importance of executing such lessons well, rather than simply winging it.

The learning never stops for great Virginia criminal defense

Focus groups, mock multiple jurors, and trial consultants who focus on the phrases and PowerPoint slides that will persuade the most, do have their place, although they are not secrets. None of that replaces a persuasive Virginia criminal defense lawyer’s baring his or her soul  and self to himself and at least a select number of colleagues to whom the lawyer can be safe doing that with. I did that at the Trial Lawyers College, and repeatedly do so when addressing my own cases when gathering with one or more prior attendees of the college. The experience for a criminal defense lawyer taking that path can at first be painful or at least very unsettling, but in the end, when done right, strengthens and improves the lawyer, and helps the lawyer heal any wounds that the lawyer has in his or her past that relate to the present defense. One concept that I learned about this is to embrace our fears, pain and anger (and is anger not rooted in fear?) so that we may know these seeming intruders before we can disintegrate them and send them on their way, and so that we may better address and transcend them the next time around.

Maintaining a thick skin and open heart can do wonders for a Virginia criminal defense lawyer’s defense of the accused

After I received my own servings of firmness — to say the least — from actors playing the roles of my client and of cross examinees, one of my Trial Practice Institute peers described me as having a thick skin and an open heart. That is a great way for a Virginia criminal defense lawyer to survive and thrive in obtaining great results for the criminally accused, at once making the lawyer unflappable against verbal bows and arrows, while remaining sensitive and deeply listening to his client and each moment in the defense. If I have any of my own secrets in how I succeed in Virginia criminal court, that is one of them.

Beat the prosecution

My high school cross country coach who told us how important it was to compete against ourselves had it right to a point, but we Virginia criminal defense lawyers need to win as much justice as possible for our clients. Unlike a sports competition, in court our clients’ lives, liberty, reputations and livelihood are on the line. That is why my call to action and web address are Beath the Prosecution.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz does not rest in defending those accused of Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor offenses. You will see that with your own eyes and ears through your free initial in-person confidential consultation with Jon about your court pending case. Call 703-383-1100 for your appointment.