Sometimes it completely blows my mind what I do for a living. The gravity of my job never escapes me & I always appreciate the importance of doing a good job on my clients' cases. But so often I end up working out a plea agreement for most cases. But winning this trial is one of those moments where I can't help but be overwhelmed by what my job entails.
I had a client facing very serious charges. There was a very good offer on the table, but ultimately my client decided not to accept it. It was a HELL of a gamble. His exposure at trial was 10-15 years in prison. I cross-examined the state's witnesses, presented our witnesses, and argued the case. And at the end of the day, all the work I did in the case kept a man out of prison.
The government wanted to put this guy in prison for 15 years & I stopped it from doing that. That is CRAZY! I saved 15 years of this guy's life. I don't know that I will ever be able to fully grasp the enormity of that. It's so huge. And I don't feel like I am some rockstar attorney who always knocks them out of the park, so I am still amazed & overjoyed when I win. Especially something like this!
I may not be able to fully wrap my brain around it, but it feels fucking fantastic!!!
Long-time lurker/subscriber to your blog, and public defender down in the south.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, great work!!
Thank you!! And thank you for coming out of hiding to say hi! :)
DeleteCongratulations, comrade. That's a pretty big deal; you guys should have a party.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, comrade! That's a pretty big deal; you guys should throw a party!
ReplyDeleteAlso, hopefully this isn't a double-post. I tried to comment earlier, but then my browser did something.
Thank you!! Don't worry--it wasn't your browser. I have comment moderation turned on because I get a lot of spam comments, so I have to approve comments before they actually appear. :)
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