a good day in the trenches Deciding whether to have your client testify in the grand jury is a real roll of the dice. My client -- a 66 year old man with no criminal record, retired after 36 years of working at US Steel, fractured hip, using a walker, diabetic -- was charged with selling drugs. Bail was set at $5,000 at arraignment by a real swine of a judge, meaning my pathetic client would spend the entire time his case was pending in jail (at least a year).
I usually don't have my clients testify in the grand jury. Testify and get indicted, plea offers by the DA get even shittier, bail is sometimes raised and you're stuck with whatever your client says -- under oath -- if the case goes to trial.
But today I put my client in. He's just too old for this. Walking with him to the grand jury panel -- one hand they had handcuffed to his tattered pants and he hobbled along using a cane in the other hand -- I felt like I do before a trial. Scared shitless.
My client told his story; I walked with him back to the guarded elevator down to the holding cells; went back to the office; got a call on my cell.
He blew it out! Case Dismissed! He's home!
FUCK YES!! FUCK YOU!! FUCK THE DRUG WAR!!
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Posted on Mar 26, 2008 at 8:06 PM | Comments
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