My clients’ incident videos with police repeatedly show police reassuring them:

– “If you cooperate with me by answering my questions, I will be able to put in a good word for you to the prosecutor.”

– “Your case is not the end of the world. You will probably just get probation or a few days in jail.”

– “It is time to man up to your actions.”

Many prosecutors try mindgames to push a guilty plea:

– They will sometimes try double and tripleteaming against the defense lawyer if the defense lawyer rejects the plea offer made by the first prosecutor.

– They sometimes urge that the judge will be pi–ed off at a lengthy trial.

– They sometimes warn of the allegedly dire results that predecessor defendants have had when going to trial under similar circumstances.

Many judges get in on the action (praised be juries when they are available to take away the factfinding function from the judge):

– They may warn of losing the benefits of accepting responsibility, if sentencing happens.

– They may warn how strong the prosecutor’s case is.

– They may warn that the case looks cut and dried.

The cops, prosecutors, and judges are not criminal defendants’ friends. They have their own agendas that are not parallel to the defendants’ goals and agendas. That means that all criminal defendants need to obtain a qualified lawyer early on .

Criminal defendants should expect their lawyers to fight hard and effectively for the best possible result in their case. Defendants should not demand miracles, but also should leave open the possibility that great things may come their way in their case through concerted teamwork with their lawyers.

Criminal defendants might do well to perceive of their arrest as bringing themselves closer to the fire. With their lawyer, they will endeavor not to be harmed by the fire, or to be harmed as little as possible by it. Feeling heat is better than singed eyebrows is better than a minor burn is better than a medium burn is better than a major burn is better than body parts burnt to a crisp.

The damage of the fire can be avoided or reduced by eliminating the fire, reducing the fire, getting away from the fire, and proverbially throwing the fire at the other side, Unexpected wind might redirect the fire towards or away from the defendant. Unexpected fuel might be added to the fire. The fire might catch onto dry trees and start a devastating forest fire.

Don’t play with the fire. Part of that fire is within the cops, prosecutors, and plenty of judges. Therefore, do not rely that a great settlement offer is a shoe-in, nor that the judge will not make damaging decisions no enter damaging sentences if there is a conviction. Do not rely that the usually reliable judge for such cases will not become unreliable, or will become sick, on vacation, or otherwise unvailable, and replaced by an ogre of a judge. Do not rely on the law to solve all.

Even some of the greatest firefighters are unable to solve all fires, and are unable to assure that they themselves will not get seriously injured or even killed with a future fire.

Firefighters nevertheless are fighters. Great criminal defense lawyers are great fighters, and can deliver better firepower when they and their clients work closely and well together.