Reason #45,286 I want to be a lawyer...

Thought I'd share an interesting anecdote my Business Law professor told us yesterday in class. Mind you, my professor has been practicing law for sometime, and still teaches class in the evenings.

Dr. Clifton was defending someone who had been charged with possesion of 37 rocks of crack cocaine and 100 grams of marijuana. While in the courtroom, with all of the evidence laid out on a large table in the middle of the courtroom, Dr. Clifton got the opportunity to cross examine one of the arresting officers. He began by asking the officer if he had found any fingerprints in the bedroom where the drugs where found. No. How about the closet in the bedroom? No. Ok, did you find any fingerprints on the plastic bags the drugs where in? Nope...Did you find ANY fingerprints? No we didn't. Why is that? The officer responded by saying the police department simply didn't have the budget to send fingerprints to the lab.

After dismissing the witness, my professor began his closing arguments (the second best part of being a lawyer, aside from the opening statement) by mentioning that there was no way the jury could convict his client without proof that he had even TOUCHED the drugs. There was no reason to send a seemingly innocent man to jail for 30 years...OBJECTION! Apparently he forgot that you can't make mention of the possible sentencing of a defendant if they were convicted, as that paints a picture in the jury's mind as to whether or not they feel they deserve that much time...anyway, the judge allowed Dr. Clifton to proceed, and didn't request a re-trial. He went on to win, and as they left the courtroom, his client and his client's family were so happy and glad that he wasn't found guilty. Dr. Clifton's client thanked him to no end for getting his life back for him and so on. Right before he left, Dr. Clifton's client approached him with one more question "any way I could get those drugs back?"

I'm so glad the system works. One of the only professions in the world where you can actually be right by defending somebody who's wrong...