Your Role

The court is very much like theatre. In order for a client to “win” there are many factors that influence the Judges. The issue is NOT whether these issues SHOULD ultimately influence the decision maker BUT in my years of experience I have found that THEY DO. These are the simple “COMMANDMENTS” to follow if you want to tip the scales of justice in your favour.

1.   BE ON TIME
Judges hate people who are late. They have heard the same excuses over and over. Some take it as a personal insult if you are not there when the court starts. Being on time shows respect for the court. Judges like that.

2.   DRESS APPROPRIATELY
The court is a formal place. It is not a place where you should be displaying your best physical assets in tight or revealing “club” clothing. For men, a tee-shirt and jeans look may be fine in school or at work but it hardly projects “credibility” to the Judge in a court of law. If you have taken the time to dress like you are going to church (or a funeral – yeah, it may be your own!) believe me, the Judges take notice and appreciate that fact. To them it conveys respect. Judges like that.

3.   SHOW RESPECT
If you are an angry person and are determined to show your anger to the Judge by giving the Judge “a piece of your mind” by using “street language” or conveying through obvious body language that you are a mean tough S.O.B. Don’t bother! The fact is that you are NOT going to win this battle by proving your toughness. The anger and the disrespect will shine through and you will only hurt your cause. My advice is to adopt “Leave it to Beaver” language while in court. Call everyone “Sir” or “Miss”. Let me put it this way, it is likely that an actor like Will Smith will get more of a “break” than 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg. If you are smart you make will make the right call. If you show respect: You will get respect. Judges like that.

4.   THINK BEFORE YOU ANSWER
You have to remember that all lawyers like to play with words. Prosecutors are no different. If you can answer a question with four words as opposed to twenty words, try using just four. There is an old expression among veteran criminal lawyers. The expression is, “More rope you give them, the higher they will string you up”. The courtroom is not the place to liberally exercise your freedom of speech. Most of the time if you just answer the specific question being asked you will be rewarded for your honesty by the Judge. You also have to remember that most lawyers and Judges have a keen sense for detecting bullshit. If you go up on the stand and exaggerate your side of the story and minimize your own involvement in an obvious manner, you are going to be in trouble. (For example: “Yeah, I just stood there watching while John and Paul pounded my best friend George who weighs only 130 pounds to a pulp with baseball bats. I swear I didn’t lift a finger…I was like hypnotized…I just stood there and in a calm manner and said, “Please stop this beating.” I have no idea why I was charged. Sure, I am a really big guy with a history for violence but I didn’t do anything. I have no idea how John and Paul got so badly hurt. I just remember the police coming and saying, “Ringo, you are under arrest”. And if I did anything, I don’t remember because I was really really drunk). If you think that Ringo’s story doesn’t make sense and the example is strictly for comedic illustrative purposes, come and watch some people testify in criminal court saying equally laughable things. It happens more times than you might think. Think before you answer. Judges like that.

5.   YOU DON’T HAVE TO TALK TO THE POLICE
If you are being investigated for a criminal offence you don’t have to talk to the police. You don’t have to go to the police station for a “little talk”. You must identify yourself with your correct name and then simply ask to speak to a lawyer. Say nothing. Do nothing. Over and over again this advice is repeated by lawyers to their clients. The reasoning behind this advice is simple. Most people in the presence of police say things that are not helpful to their cause. Your statement - or confession as the police may say later on- usually contains contradictions that are later used to discredit you. You must remember that the police are professional interrogators and their job is to investigate crime and arrest people who they think have committed crimes. They are not there to do “justice”. That is exclusively the job of the courts. You are not going to charm the police by talking and having them not lay the charge. By talking, you will help the police to gather more information for the prosecution. By talking, you will give the police access to information and knowledge that is locked inside your head. The issue is not actual guilt or innocence but the appearance of guilt. Why not take the opportunity to clear your head and finally tell your story months later to the judge who does not work for the police or the prosecutor? There are two basic approaches that the police deploy to get people to talk. The first approach is, “Oh why don’t you tell us your side of the story” or “You can tell us what happened or we can take you the station”. The second approach is “Well we know what you did so why don’t you just come clean?” The approach is usually, “We have concrete evidence against you that you did this (we have confessions from others, we have photographs, fingerprints etc) so make it easy on yourself”. I can’t tell you how many times I have represented small time drug dealers who are shocked and outraged when they find out that the undercover police officer lied to them when asked, “Hey are you a cop?” In order to conduct investigations the police are allowed to “lie”. The case is not thrown out of court because the police “lied” about who they were or the amount of evidence they supposedly had against an accused. So shut up after giving your correct name and date of birth. Your defence will go well in court because you followed this simple advice.

6.   LISTEN TO YOUR LAWYER
I am very good at what I do. I am here to help you. You may have your own ideas and opinions on how to run your defence. The reality is that you have hired me to represent you. The reason I was hired was because I know what I am doing and you have trusted me with protecting your freedom. I take this professional responsibility very very seriously. After learning about your case and going through the disclosure with a fine toothed comb and considering ALL possible Statute, Common Law and Charter defences, we will sit down together and I will make some recommendations to you. These recommendations may be based on legal or tactical grounds. It is an issue of trust.