I was kind of a UCC nerd in law school – I even voluntarily took secured transactions and commercial paper. I have had UCC principles turn up several times in defense cases – such as in the dubious charge of “endangering a security interest.” If you know your UCC, you may find that the security interest was never properly set up in the first place.

You are the exception. As you know, I’ve written somewhere about those with some real-world experience being better prosecutors (all else being equal) than those without.

I went into prosecution after the army, college, marriage/kids, law school and a year of trying to collect fees from clients.

Yes, I like the law (hated law school). Loved the courtroom. Hated the preliminary rounds. Enjoyed most people in the criminal justice community, but hated some of the fools including the mass production TV guide types.

Even once played golf with a defendant and his attorney during a continuance. Don’t tell Johnny.

While my card does use the word “attorney”, my private description of what I do is “Hostage Negotiator”

I’ve written before about the detrimental effects of prosecutors’ lack of real-world experience. It’s funny you should say “perspective.” Very recently a misdemeanor chief got all snitty with me when I pointed out said chief’s lack of perspective, which will result in a case being tried that doesn’t need to be.

SC, your path through the law to criminal defense resembles mine.

As everyone knows, there are only three lawyer jokes.

All the rest are true stories.

I think I was lucky in that I started law school at age 36, after a career in entertainment engineering. Those kids who go from high school to college to law school, then think they are competent to judge everyone else’s life when they’ve never had one of their own, generally annoy me. Their judgment is poor; they have no perspective; they cannot communicate with adults. No wonder so many go on to work in the DA’s office (where knee-jerk reactions pass for considered judgment), while most of the older students (if they go into crim law) go to the defense side.

Most good business schools won’t admit someone to get an MBA unless they’ve worked for a few years; why law schools admit children with no real-world experience at all is beyond me. (I think it is because they need the tuition money.) Nothing is more valuable to a lawyer than real-world experience — the sort that is almost impossible to get while hiding behind a bar card.

Leviathan, criminal defense intrudes into the rest of my life in a way that I can’t imagine any other area of the law doing.

Ron, I’m not sure which I enjoy more: feeling that I might’ve helped justice prevail, or feeling that I’ve stuck it to the government.

Other Steve, my casual (paper) cards say “Bennett & Bennett / Just Lawyers Helping People” and my formal (etched stainless) cards say “Bennett & Bennett / Criminal Defense Lawyers / Abogados Defensores”. That’s on the front, along with our telephone number. On the back the stainless ones have five other ways to contact us (address, toll-free number, fax, email, Mexico number) and the paper ones have seven (address, fax, toll-free, two websites, my email, Jen’s email) around the corners and “Because people need lawyers they can trust.” in the middle. Stationery is paper (the stainless stationery was too hard to fold), and has the same content as the casual business cards.

PJ, it’s funny you should ask that. There’s apparently a consumer fraud trial going on in the courthouse now in which the accused is accused of actually stealing houses, which is what had me thinking of my client, who was forging deeds to himself and then getting cash loans against the deeds. Allegedly.

AHCL, we got two copies of the worthless Texas Bar Journal today, filled with all sorts of pompous asshattery.

So you’re comparing Kelly Siegler to a cat in Ponca City? I refuse to take that straight line where it deserves to go.

Leviathan,
Sadly, I actually understand EXACTLY how unimportant the DA’s race is to a lot of people. That’s why I run my blog. Hopefully I will make it interesting to SOMEBODY. I mean, if some lonely guy in Ponca City, Oklahoma can devote a blog to his cat, why can’t I write one about the DA’s race? And by the way, Leviathan, I wish you posted more often. Even though we don’t always agree, I do miss your insight.

PJ,
I rarely (if ever) agree with you, but that was pretty funny.