The most common question that I'm asked when I tell people that I'm a criminal defense

attorney is, do I ask my clients if they did it?

The second most commonly asked question, how do you defend such a person?

And the answer for both is the same.

Much like what we continually say about life in general on this pod, in that it's not black

and white, it falls squarely in the grays.

Because for as long as I've been practicing law, I've had maybe three occasions were

during an initial client consult that an alleged offender has come clean and admitted that

they in fact did commit whatever they are accused of doing by law enforcement.

Now, that is not such a stunning number when you take into consideration that I'd never,

ever ask my clients if they did it.

It's not because that I don't want to know the answer.

No, it's because the answer has no bearing on what my job as a defense attorney is.

Now, if you're sitting there thinking to yourself, well, what the hell does he mean?

That seems like the entire point of being a defense attorney.

Well, after watching years of TV and movies, I can completely understand why you would

think that.

But the simple fact is that it's wrong, and I'll tell you why.

So when a client calls and says, hey, I need a lawyer, I say, okay, now I need you to listen

very carefully to the question that I am about to put forth to you, then I will ask them,

what are the cops saying that you did?

I don't ask them, what did you do?

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