I have practiced criminal defense my entire career. In all my criminal cases I have sat on the defense side of the table. Every time. I am not a former prosecutor, and proud of it.
There are many things to consider when hiring a criminal defense attorney. In many ways it is one of the most important decisions you can ever make. So much is at stake. One thing you need to decide is whether you want to hire a former prosecutor.
Many criminal defense attorneys' ads, websites, and sales pitch center on their prior work history. Of note, many advertise themselves as "former prosecutors" as if that somehow makes them a better defense attorney. You will read or hear about how they "know how the government thinks or acts" or something to that effect. Well my experience comes by fighting against the government, not by working for the government. While there is something to be said for experience, should much credit really be given to such experience when their job was to put someone accused of a crime into jail? Their ads could just as accurately says "Before this I was trying to put you in jail!"
I have never argued in court to put anyone into jail. I have argued for justice to be done and that often means arguing to have someone released from jail. I have learned that police are humans who do human things, like sometimes bend or break the truth or tell a story that best serves their interests. Prosecutors commonly act as if justice exists in a vacuum and that police are superhuman, that they always tell the truth. I have always fought against the unlimited power and might of the government. Prosecutors are part of the government. My focus has always been on my clients not my bosses. I have not worked for promotions or seniority. I have never bragged about my conviction win percentage because I have never sought a conviction. I have always worked for my clients, by defending my clients, even when no one else will. I have spent my entire career defending my clients' rights, liberties, and property. For every single one of my criminal cases I have sat at the defense table. No former prosecutor can say that.
So when you see or hear another ad or sales pitch about an attorney who was once a prosecutor stop and ask yourself whether that fact better qualifies them as a criminal defense attorney. It is worth thinking about.
