A few months ago, I learned that a criminal defense case that I had been working on for a lengthy period of time resulted in all felony charges being dismissed against the defendant.
So, what moved the needle? The gut instinct of an experienced criminal defense attorney, a thorough background investigation into the investigating officer, and the coming together of a determined attorney and investigator changed the prosecutor’s direction. I have seen this formula time and time again.
In this case, the attorney realized that something wasn’t right with the investigating officer during the defense interview. It was good instincts and experience that allowed the attorney to recognize that there was a problem. And while I can’t get into specifics, I doubt many attorneys would have caught on.
The attorney consulted with me about a strategy going forward with respect to investigating the background of the officer. He endorsed my ideas and offered his full support.
Conducting a thorough investigation into a police officer or expert witness is not easy. You simply cannot just request an individual’s personnel file, check criminal history with databases, and call it good. Here were the key ideas in our case.
- Know what type of records are kept on law enforcement officers and who the custodians of those records are.
- Possess a clear understanding of the public record laws, court record laws, how to properly craft a records request, and how to overcome denials from custodian of records (we had lots of denials in this case, and we won them all upon reconsideration).
- Understand how to reconstruct someone’s address history, employment history, civil court history, domestic history, juvenile criminal history, and adult criminal history.
- Understand how to identify social media accounts when an individual or associated persons aren’t using their full true name on their accounts.
- Clearly understand applicable rules of evidence.
- Be able to articulate the facts clearly and effectively and apply them to a given situation.
In the end, experience, and teamwork counts. There simply is no substitute.