High profile cases have been proving me wrong lately. Kind of.
One of my big gripes with film and television crime shows is their common depiction of a criminal suspect or defendant talking to police while his lawyer sits idly by. This is a common complaint of mine because criminal defense lawyers almost NEVER let their clients speak to police, and for good reason. Criminal lawyers know that the best evidence against someone is often their own words.
No matter how clever someone thinks they are, there is almost never anything they can say to help themselves once the police have targeted them as a suspect, and certainly not once hthey have been charged.
That said, Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State football coach, who has been charged with 40 counts of molestation against 8 boys, spoke to sports reporter Bob Costas, this week. During the interview, Sandusky admitted almost all of the allegations against him short of the ultimate sexual acts. Most reports of the interview concluded that it did not help him at all, at least in the court of public opinion.
Chances are good that if Sandusky goes to trial, the prosecution will play the tape of his interview to the jury. The jury will likely see Sandusky's words in a bad light as well, and it will come back to bite him.
This is exactly what happened recently during the involuntary manslaughter trial against Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. I used that case as an example of why suspects should not, and usually do not once they have a lawyer, speak to police. Speaking to a reporter is not any different.
Sandusky's lawyer has gotten a lot of flack as a result of letting Sandusky do the interview. Of course, if a client insists on talking, there's really only so much a lawyer can do. And who knows how things played out between Sandusky and his attorney. At the end of the day, however, this case stands as yet another example of why suspects and defendants should not talk, and, more importantly, why criminal defense attorneys almost never let that happen.
Sign up for your free Writer's Guide: Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery and Legal Drama, which includes more information about the value of remaining silent.
One of my big gripes with film and television crime shows is their common depiction of a criminal suspect or defendant talking to police while his lawyer sits idly by. This is a common complaint of mine because criminal defense lawyers almost NEVER let their clients speak to police, and for good reason. Criminal lawyers know that the best evidence against someone is often their own words.
No matter how clever someone thinks they are, there is almost never anything they can say to help themselves once the police have targeted them as a suspect, and certainly not once hthey have been charged.
That said, Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State football coach, who has been charged with 40 counts of molestation against 8 boys, spoke to sports reporter Bob Costas, this week. During the interview, Sandusky admitted almost all of the allegations against him short of the ultimate sexual acts. Most reports of the interview concluded that it did not help him at all, at least in the court of public opinion.
Chances are good that if Sandusky goes to trial, the prosecution will play the tape of his interview to the jury. The jury will likely see Sandusky's words in a bad light as well, and it will come back to bite him.
This is exactly what happened recently during the involuntary manslaughter trial against Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. I used that case as an example of why suspects should not, and usually do not once they have a lawyer, speak to police. Speaking to a reporter is not any different.
Sandusky's lawyer has gotten a lot of flack as a result of letting Sandusky do the interview. Of course, if a client insists on talking, there's really only so much a lawyer can do. And who knows how things played out between Sandusky and his attorney. At the end of the day, however, this case stands as yet another example of why suspects and defendants should not talk, and, more importantly, why criminal defense attorneys almost never let that happen.
Sign up for your free Writer's Guide: Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery and Legal Drama, which includes more information about the value of remaining silent.
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