Although the criminal clinic officially started a couple weeks ago, for me it really started today. I skipped class and played prosecutor for the day, wearing a suit and tie...well my one and only suit with the only tie that matches it that I own.
Anyway, I got to argue the motions that I had written a couple weeks ago in front of a Justice Court judge, against a member of the bar with a real defendant sitting there, and I pretty much succeeded. The facts and the law were overwhelmingly on my side, so I am not here to boast.
In fact, the defense attorney did his best to obfuscate the issues at trial with other matters and a long windbag style that had me befuddled too. Why would 6 months of logs for a breathalyzer be necessary for his case if we gave him an affidavit that said it was checked prior to and after the breath test was conducted and the machine was functioning properly? Why would he need a 911 tape of a witness who said he saw the defendant driving drunk when we had the eyewitness present in the courtroom to testify and the tape had been destroyed per administrative procedure? Why on God's green Earth did it take nearly 3 hours to resolve those issues and the legality of a semi-standard stop and arrest?
He pulled out cases that had nothing to do with the matter and tried to connect them. He decided to whap down the print on the State's table as if that lent them more authority. It was exaspirating. And after all that, I discovered that one of my motions was not delivered to the other side, so the judge gave him time to respond to my response, and cut off my argument.
I am almost certain that his motion will fail, but it sure was frustrating. My supervising attorney told me that I had had enough for several trials and that I had earned my stripes today. So I returned home happy, tired, but annoyed.
How was your day?
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