I have a story about a defendant not taking the stand in a criminal case.
If you get annoyed by what criminal defense lawyers do, stop reading now 😂 (and go read the 6th Amendment)
So anyway, one of my law school professors was considered among the top criminal defense lawyers in San Francisco.
OJ Simpson's legal team was preparing his defense -- and OJ was insisting on taking the stand.
OJ truly believed that if he could just talk to the jury, they wouldn't convict him.
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His defense team was beside themselves because he was insisting.
So they hired my professor to show him what cross-examination was like.
She thought about why OJ was so confidant and concluded that he had always charmed his way out of situations and believed his charm would help him on trial.
She thoroughly prepared (of course, she was one of the best) and did a mock trial.
At the end of her cross-examination, he was a mess. . .
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She so rattled him and took him apart that he lost control over what he was saying.
At the end, he said, "OK. I am not taking the stand."
One more story.
One of my clients had a hearing coming and said to me, "I'm going to go in there and tell the judge a few things."
(I was just doing his appeals)
I explained the cardinal rule of power struggles: Never get into a power struggle with someone who has more power than you.
I have found that teenagers also benefit from that advice.
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@Teri_Kanefield Corollary to the cardinal rule of power struggles: If you feel powerless find a way to change the situation to give yourself a voice. This is a core tenant of non-violent civil resistance.
