IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN

A little while ago, my phone rang and it was from one of my former secretaries, Rose, calling to say hello and get a little legal advice, and I was very happy to hear from her. Rose is one of those self-starters who has the innate ability to grasp the legal concepts necessary for expertise as a criminal legal secretary, and not everyone in the field has that gift. You didn’t have to instruct her; she was always ahead of the game. In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that one of her friends had a complaint in that I had not mentioned in my blog one of the best criminal defense trial attorneys, Marvin Cooper, and Rose said that, next to Marvin Cooper, I was the best criminal defense attorney that she knew. Marvin was about six ten, well-built, with dark hair, was one handsome guy and was an outstanding trial attorney. We were friendly, but his group consisted of “Walkie” Cole and Ted Millard.   Walkie, Ted and Marvin were Orange County products, all three growing up in the area and were known for getting into trouble and enjoying a little fisticuffs every now and then. All became lawyers, Walkie was criminal defense and Teddy a tough prosecutor in the DA’s Orange County

I had a case involving a musical group in LA where they were charged with possession of pornographic adult material based on  their record label. Yes, the standards as to what was legal expression or not were pretty strict in those days. Patrick Hallinan, a San Francisco criminal lawyer, came down to Los Angeles to represent one of the co-defendants and we became friends. Patrick knew Ted, as both were students at Cal Berkeley, but on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Ted, Orange County conservative, and Patrick, Bay Area liberal. So, as the story goes from Patrick’s side, at a campus protest, Patrick, his mother and family had some kind of argument and arrangements were made for the two boys to meet and duke it out. They met and Patrick, having had boxing instruction from his father, beat the crap out of Ted. Of course, Ted’s version was just the opposite, claiming he, Ted, got the best of the encounter.  The Hallinan family father and mother were pretty left wing and sons, Patrick and Vincent (KO) Hallinan,  ended up, believe it or not, as the San Francisco elected District Attorney (which gives you a clue of just how far left the City is.) Look up the Hallinan family on Google. Fascinating.

Anyway, back to Marvin Cooper. There I was picking a jury in South San Francisco Municipal Court, when there was a recess in the proceedings. Marvin approached me with some sage advice. He had been observing me questioning individual jurors for the purpose of selecting and said “Marshall, you are talking down to the jurors, and I don’t think you are getting your points across.” “Bingo!” I was grateful for the remarks and observations.

My point is that one is always learning in this trial business. Now, I write on my legal pad before every case two thoughts: one is “Be Nice” and the second, “KISS,” short for: “keep it simple, stupid.” I always follow those thoughts and it works for me.

I mentioned in earlier bogs what I want to accomplish during jury selection, but I would like to talk about it a little bit again. First jurors generally want to convict and usually believe that the defendant would not be there if innocent, and any belief to the contrary is a waste of time. So I want the jurors to promise to wait until they hear both sides before making up their mind, and I don’t want them discussing the case with each other until they are all in the jury room for deliberation, and point out the Court’s admonishment to that end. I talk about credibility and a bunch of other stuff. I definitely talk to the not at them and try to be nice to them as well as the prosecutor. I believe that, as opposed to sports “nice guys win ball (trials) games.”

I will always be grateful for Marvin’s advice about my attitude talking down at the jurors instead of I them.

I didn’t intend to leave Marvin out of my blog, just didn’t get around to him, waiting until I started writing about my San Francisco experience in the latter stages of my career.

Marshall