Real-Life Decision Making
Lawyers make difficult decisions all the time. When it comes to defending
people charged with criminal acts, those decisions can be even more challenging.
You are an experienced criminal defense attorney faced with a serious decision
about what evidence to bring into a case. Your client is charged with murder
and faces life in prison if convicted. The prosecutors say he beat a man to
death in cold blood, without provocation. Your client says he was acting in
self-defense.
You oversee an extensive investigation of the victim's past. During
that investigation, you learn that several of the victim's neighbors
believed he regularly assaulted his wife. Though no formal charges were ever
made, you collect statements from those neighbors that leave you satisfied
the allegations are true.
Now you must decide whether to include this information in the trial. It's
not an easy decision for several reasons. First, portraying the victim as
an abusive person could backfire. The jury may sympathize with him or not
believe the witnesses you call, each of whom may have their own
motive for wanting to testify.
Second, the jury may disregard the information anyway. They may feel that
even if the man was abusive, it was not reason enough for him to die.
On the other hand, the evidence may support your client's claim of
self-defense. If the man was violent, it makes logical sense that he would
have attacked your client first.
What do you do?