Defending People

the art and science of criminal defense trial lawyering

In Trial

I’d much rather be in trial than waiting to go to trial — a good day in trial is better than just about anything else you’d care to name. This is my sixth jury trial in twelve months. It’s an aggravated assault charge — CW got glass in his eye, needs money, blames D. In the 179th District Court, the Honorable Lee Duggan presiding. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop in and say hello. We should be arguing it early Thursday afternoon.

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This entry was posted by Mark Bennett on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 7:31 pm and is filed under jury trials, trial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About The Author

Mark Bennett
Mark Bennett got his letter of marque from the Supreme Court of Texas in May 1995. He is famous for having no sense of humor when it comes to totalitarianism.

Comments

5 Responses to “In Trial”

  1. A Harris County Lawyer says:
    24 October 2008 at 1:33 pm

    So what happened?

    Reply
  2. Mark Bennett says:
    24 October 2008 at 3:21 pm

    Guilty, thank you for asking.

    3 years probated. Not my biggest loss ever, but the end of a 5-trial streak of what could fairly be called “wins”.

    Note to potential clients: If you want a criminal defense lawyer who never loses a trial, you’ll have to hire a lawyer who never tries a case. Either that or Gerry Spence.

    Reply
  3. Mark's Dad says:
    24 October 2008 at 10:00 pm

    Gerry Spence didn’t even lose cases during the eight years he was a prosecutor.

    Reply
  4. withheld says:
    25 October 2008 at 8:11 pm

    Gary cherry picked his trial clients, anyone can win a trial that way. My condolences on the end of the streak. Our losses are often more important than our wins as anyone can try a slam dunk case.

    Reply
  5. Mark Bennett says:
    26 October 2008 at 3:56 pm

    withheld, I don’t think that’s an entirely fair criticism of Gerry. Yes, he was very selective in trying criminal cases, but it doesn’t seem to me that he picked the criminal cases that most lawyers would see as slam dunks.

    That said, it’s fair to say that a lawyer who never loses a trial isn’t pushing the envelope enough.

    Reply

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