I jotted down four things you should know before going to court, and I'm covering them in 4 blog posts. In my last blog post, I talked about the fact that people lie. All the time. Even in Court. This week, I'm moving on to Part II: EVEN THE GREATEST TRIAL ATTORNEY CANNOT CHANGE THE FACTS.
Truth be told, a great trial attorney can ethically and honestly find ways to make his or her opposing counsel work hard. Harder than perhaps they thought would be necessary. And they can find ways to convince a jury to have mercy on their client. And there's nothing wrong with that. We have a legal system in place which entitles everyone to their day in court, and the system works. A seasoned trial attorney can tell great stories, make savvy evidentiary objections and procedural arguments, argue persuasively, and highlight favorable facts while finding ways to cast shadows on the harmful facts. However, even the greatest trial attorneys have their limits. For example, when a client has already sent their opponent a series of emails admitting fault, or was caught red-handed with his or her hand in the proverbial cookie jar, there is only so much a lawyer can do. In those cases, assuming the damning evidence is admissible, the lawyer must resort to "damage control." Lawyers are not miracle workers. They might be able to throw a Hail Mary from time to time, but they're no Joe Montana. Or, these days, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers.
For more information on this article or the other articles in this series, be sure to check the Trial Lawyer on Your Side blog next week or contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or (712) 226-4000.