Attorney Profile

Choosing a criminal defense attorney is a precarious and daunting task. Most people have no choice but to take an attorney at his word when he tells them that he is competent to handle their criminal charge.

I have a different philosophy than many criminal defense lawyers. Most criminal defense attorneys love to regale their clients with "war stories" about their "trial experience. "Conversely, I consider almost every trial to be a failure. Trials happen when your lawyer fails to do his work up front or one side or the other miscalculates the merits of the case.

Think about it. Do you really want to trust your freedom to twelve morons who were too stupid to figure out how to avoid jury duty? Do you really want to be the only person in the room who may or may not go home when the jury returns from its deliberations? Most cases can and should be negotiated to a dismissal or some other resolution that involves consequences less severe than incarceration. MOST CASES CAN BE NEGOTIATED TO OUTCOMES THAT ARE BETTER THAN WHAT A JURY WILL DECIDE?

Typically, knowing when to fight and win and when to pursue a negotiated settlement is the most important skill your attorney can have. In those cases when no negotiated settlement is a possibility, knowing how to fight and win and the most important skill your attorney can have.

In his classic work, THE ART OF WAR, the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote "Do not go to war unless you have already won." I agree with Sun Tzu. Yes, there are times when a case cannot be beaten before trial and there is no acceptable option that can be negotiated. Other times, the lawyers and/or the system fails and trial is the result. Oklahoma juries are notoriously prone to convict. In Oklahoma, juries convict unless the defendant is innocent beyond a reasonable doubt. Perhaps that is why Oklahoma has the third highest rate of incarceration in the United States.