State vs. Jason Lynn Young 2-24-2012

[Madeleine74]

If you believe in the constitution of this country then you believe in the rights that constitution affords. No one wants murderers to be running around, but there is a time-tested process in place that protects everyone's rights. And it is important those rights remain protected. I have no problem with that at all. If I don't like it, I can move to another country.

 

[Mama-cita]

He could have stopped anywhere, I think he just stopped to have some time to figure out a game plan before going to Meredith's house since he knew he was a suspect and police would probably want to talk to him.

Guilty or innocent, I'm sure he was scared and wanted to make sure he didn't slip up and incriminate himself.

What "game plan?" Ryan told him don't talk without an attorney. Did he need more "strategy" than that? Or maybe he thinks better over chocolate mousse shooters?:fence:

 

[fromageball]

Isn't the dinner @ Applebees just so telling? You'd think the crowd in that vehicle, if they could even muster the strength to eat, would have just hit the McDonald's drive thru and kept on getting it down the highway. Instead, they chose to dine at a sit down restaurant which probably took nearly an hour from start to finish. Afterall, let's get our priorities in order!hoh:

I see where you're coming from, but I think the purpose of the stop was to figure out a plan for how to proceed when they arrived at Meredith's house. How to deal with the family, the police, etc.

If I were in that situation I probably wouldn't be able to eat, but I would definitely be freaking out and would want to take a breather before dealing with people. Especially people who could use my words against me in court.

 

[Mama-cita]

Defense attorneys usually never ask because if the answer was yes, that their client did it, they could not present evidence to the contrary. That is a breach of the code of ethics.

:seeya:Hi gitana! Always a pleasure to see you around!

 

[gritguy]

What if a client confesses to their attorney at some point?
What does he do then?

BTW, have you ever seen The Lincoln Lawyer?

Great movie, GG.

You can present a defense, still, but you would be crippled to some degree.

I would think you would want out of the case, for your client's and your own sake though.

That was a great movie!

 

[MyBelle]

Wouldn't it be strange if she testifies on behalf of Jason Young, yet, she was the one who was involved with the depo
against Brad Cooper ?

If she testifies, I don't believe the jury will be aware she was in any way involved with the Cooper case.

 

[JSR]

I know, and I agree.

There are always traces....

You do realize that there's a reason that LE says oh **** when they see their crime scene is being rained on right? And why LE covers a crime scene with a tent during wet elements?

Rain and water can and does destroy DNA. It dilutes DNA.

Otherwise Hurricane Faye wouldn't have helped Casey Anthony walk on murder charges.

 

[Wolfpack]

What if a client confesses to their attorney at some point?
What does he do then?

BTW, have you ever seen The Lincoln Lawyer?

Great movie, GG.

There is a scene where the defense laywer is so disgusted
with the piece of crap he is defending, that he sets him up
beautifully to take the fall.

Pretty genius.

You can still provide a vigorous defense of your client. You just have to do it with word art. "The state has presented NO evidence that my client is guilty" instead of "my client is innocent."

Which is why I always say, pay careful attention to the words the attorneys are using, they may give a little bit of insight into the truth of the matter.

 

[Cammy]

I see where you're coming from, but I think the purpose of the stop was to figure out a plan for how to proceed when they arrived at Meredith's house. How to deal with the family, the police, etc.

If I were in that situation I probably wouldn't be able to eat, but I would definitely be freaking out and would want to take a breather before dealing with people. Especially people who could use my words against me in court.

There was no meal at Applebee's.......unless they started serving in the parking lot.

:floorlaugh:

 

[Cammy]

You can still provide a vigorous defense of your client. You just have to do it with word art. "The state has presented NO evidence that my client is guilty" instead of "my client is innocent."

Which is why I always say, pay careful attention to the words the attorneys are using, they may give a little bit of insight into the truth of the matter.

You are an attorney too?

Cool !!

Nice to meet you...

 

[Madeleine74]

I always listen for, "My client is innocent" versus "My client maintains his innocence..." or some form of that. Always a clue therein.

 

[Mama-cita]

If she testifies, I don't believe the jury will be aware she was in any way involved with the Cooper case.

Actually, Schiwalski, LF custody attorney stated it in his direct exam today. He stated they were both involved in the Cooper case.

 

[octobermoon]

If she testifies, I don't believe the jury will be aware she was in any way involved with the Cooper case.

They already know. MS testified today that he was involved with the BC case and had contact with AS because of her work in that case.

 

[fromageball]

What "game plan?" Ryan told him don't talk without an attorney. Did he need more "strategy" than that? Or maybe he thinks better over chocolate mousse shooters?:fence:

Maybe how to talk to Meredith and Lynda...I don't know, I'm not defending JY here. I don't understand a lot of his behavior but I don't think the Applebees stop means much. I would have been having a panic attack at Applebees instead of eating.

 

[Cammy]

You can present a defense, still, but you would be crippled to some degree.

I would think you would want out of the case, for your client's and your own sake though.

That was a great movie!

It's one of my favorites, the lawyer played the defendant so good, by the time he knew what happened, it was all over.

The look on his face was priceless....the player got played !!

That is always the sweetest kind of justice........imo.

 

[gracielee]

I think gritguy explained it best. They cannot lie to the court. And if you know your client is guilty, you cannot stand up there and say "He is innocent" in your closing argument. If you don't know, you can say it.

I think defense attorneys serve an honorable purpose, and they have a very difficult and often thankless job. I am sure some lose sleep at night, but it is a necessary job, commanded by the constitution. And no one wants to see anyone locked away without the vigorous defense he is entitled to.

John Adams and his description of the necessity of defense attorneys during the Boston Massacre trials would be an interesting read for anyone on the subject.

IIRC, this issue came up in the David Westerfield trial. Remember little Danielle van Dam?? I can't recall specifically the situation, but at the same time he was defending his client, he was attempting to broker a deal to 'give up the body site' if the DP was taken off the table. As I'm typing this, again, IIRC, the attorney was attempting to lay blame on Westerfields son, when he *knew* he'd attempted to 'give up the site of Danielle's body' to broker the deal. So in effect, he knew his client was GUILTY, because he knew where her body was. Luckily one of the search teams did find the body before he was able to broker that deal.

 

[Cammy]

Maybe how to talk to Meredith and Lynda...I don't know, I'm not defending JY here. I don't understand a lot of his behavior but I don't think the Applebees stop means much. I would have been having a panic attack at Applebees instead of eating.

I am having a panic attack thinking about going on verdict watch..

 

[MyBelle]

They already know. MS testified today that he was involved with the BC case and had contact with AS because of her work in that case.

She may not agree with his testimony. I think she certainly would not agree with his weak attempt at implying guilt by association, i.e., Cooper is guilty therefore Young is guilty.

JMO

 

[gitana1]

A defense attorney can believe their client is innocent of course. But as to the general rule, the idea is that the role of the defense attorney is a necessary counterweight to the power of the state. So, if the defense attorney does her job, and the state fails to gain a conviction, despite its resources and the assistance of law enforcement, then it is the state's failure and not the defense attorney. That covers sleeping. I know a lot of good people who are criminal defense attorneys; it just wasn't for me.

Also, you have to be careful what you know, to some degree, when you are a criminal defense attorney (ok any attorney :-D), due to the responsibility for candor to the court. For sake of everyone's sanity, I'll post the rule in the legal thread. Long story short, you can't offer evidence you know is false - you can't lie to the court. So, if you don't know it's not true, you can still do it.

You beat me to it! And you said it better.

On another note, I find some defense attorneys to be sleazeballs. I'm thinking of a couple of the attorneys in a rather notorious case out of Florida last year. But most are just doing their jobs by making sure the state does its job. My law partner does criminal defense. It's a thankless job where most of the cases are rubber-stamped in favor of a conviction. Most judges are ex DAs so it can be tough to get fair rulings.

Mostly, he just tries to get the best deal possible for his clients. Usually, they are guilty but still have some redeeming qualities so he tries to get them sentences that will allow them to try to rehabilitate themselves.

Sometimes, though, they are totally innocent and being railroaded. He got a guy's murder case dismissed last year at a remanded murder trial. The guy was totally the patsy for the police, who withheld evidence, refused to explore actual evidence, etc. Conviction was appealed, remanded for re-trial and the case against him was dismissed when the prosecution saw it falling apart.

If you are someone like him, or, for example, someone like Tonya Craft, who was totally railroaded by some scary good ol' boys, then you want a good defense attorney on your side.

I say that as long as they act ethically, they should have no problems sleeping at night. Sadly, there are quite a few (Florida, ahem, ahem) that do not and they give the rest a very bad name.

 

[Mama-cita]

Oh yay! Ynotdivein is here! Y not dive in and start posting with us :giggle: