The criminal justice system can be described in many ways, and one of those is the Business of Inconvenience. Everything about the criminal justice system seems (and some would say is specifically designed) to inconvenience the defendant. Getting pulled over, receiving a ticket, getting arrested, making bond, showing up to court, hiring an attorney, obtaining and going over evidence, going back to jail, going on probation, getting the case removed from your record, etc. are all difficult and stressful events. So how do you get through all of this stress and inconvenience without losing your mind and possibly getting more charges?
The Attitude Test
This is the big one. From the moment you encounter a police officer for the first time until the moment your case is dismissed or you complete your sentence, you are going to be subject to the attitude test. This is complicated by the fact that a criminal defendant can be afraid, anxious, angry, outraged, frustrated, confused, conflicted, intoxicated and/or innocent during one or more stages of their case. These emotions are often exacerbated by the fact that so many people now have some form of control or influence over the defendant’s life that didn’t exist before. A short list includes police officers, jail staff, other defendants, pretrial officers, court clerks, defense attorneys, prosecutors, court administrators, judges, bailiffs, bondsmen, and probation officers. With each one of these people, you are taking the attitude test every time you interact with them.
So, how do you not fail the attitude test? Well, first and last, be polite. Be polite to everyone involved with your case every single time. You have to understand that criminal courthouses are like small towns. Everyone knows each other and they gossip like crazy. Having a bad encounter with one person can affect how all of the other people deal with you. Furthermore, each of those people can influence how you are viewed in the system overall. It can affect how much time occurs between court dates, whether or not you have to show up, their willingness to overlook any mistakes you make while on bond, the kind of deal you get offered. The list goes on and on. This doesn’t just apply to defendants. I’ve shaken my head at my own colleagues who seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that they are being rude to the people who ultimately have the most power over what happens to their clients’ cases.
It is okay to be frustrated, even outraged, at your circumstances. It may even be possible for you to get others in the criminal justice system to share in your frustration and outrage and try to make things better for you. Or they may even sympathize with your situation and want to make things better for you. Or you just may be stuck with your situation because it’s just a bad case for you and there’s not much to be done about it. Unfortunately, that is the most inconvenient part of this bit of advice. It may not help at all. You may smile and swallow your pride at every turn and still end up with the same outcome. However, it’s a safe bet to say that if you fail the attitude test, it will turn up worse and probably in ways that you will never know.
Take a Breath
I am a third generation attorney and practically grew up in a courtroom. I love being in courthouses and courtrooms. I like watching trials and hearing, talking about cases and obscure points of law and/or evidence. It is rare that I ever feel any anxiety at a courthouse and I can usually figure out everything going on in a courtroom by just spending a few minutes observing. It took me a long time to realize how different that was from just about everybody else. It’s hard when you do this work every day to understand the high amounts of stress our clients feel just walking into the building, much less dealing with the case itself.
Going to court (particularly criminal court) is downright terrifying for most people. And it should be. There are so many unwritten rules that seem to change from court to court, there are armed bailiffs standing around, things sometimes happen that don’t make great sense and, on top of that, you’re dealing with your future on the line. The lawyers tend to speak their own language, seem not worried about things that would worry you, and really worried about stuff that seems downright trivial on the surface.
So the best thing I can tell you is to take a deep breath when you’ve got court. Do some yoga or meditation. Pray like you’ve never prayed before. Do whatever you need to do (in healthy moderation, of course) in order to keep your anxiety levels down when you’re at court. It can be really difficult to do, but it will help you a whole lot when you have to actually make some decisions.
The Attitude Test
This is the big one. From the moment you encounter a police officer for the first time until the moment your case is dismissed or you complete your sentence, you are going to be subject to the attitude test. This is complicated by the fact that a criminal defendant can be afraid, anxious, angry, outraged, frustrated, confused, conflicted, intoxicated and/or innocent during one or more stages of their case. These emotions are often exacerbated by the fact that so many people now have some form of control or influence over the defendant’s life that didn’t exist before. A short list includes police officers, jail staff, other defendants, pretrial officers, court clerks, defense attorneys, prosecutors, court administrators, judges, bailiffs, bondsmen, and probation officers. With each one of these people, you are taking the attitude test every time you interact with them.
So, how do you not fail the attitude test? Well, first and last, be polite. Be polite to everyone involved with your case every single time. You have to understand that criminal courthouses are like small towns. Everyone knows each other and they gossip like crazy. Having a bad encounter with one person can affect how all of the other people deal with you. Furthermore, each of those people can influence how you are viewed in the system overall. It can affect how much time occurs between court dates, whether or not you have to show up, their willingness to overlook any mistakes you make while on bond, the kind of deal you get offered. The list goes on and on. This doesn’t just apply to defendants. I’ve shaken my head at my own colleagues who seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that they are being rude to the people who ultimately have the most power over what happens to their clients’ cases.
It is okay to be frustrated, even outraged, at your circumstances. It may even be possible for you to get others in the criminal justice system to share in your frustration and outrage and try to make things better for you. Or they may even sympathize with your situation and want to make things better for you. Or you just may be stuck with your situation because it’s just a bad case for you and there’s not much to be done about it. Unfortunately, that is the most inconvenient part of this bit of advice. It may not help at all. You may smile and swallow your pride at every turn and still end up with the same outcome. However, it’s a safe bet to say that if you fail the attitude test, it will turn up worse and probably in ways that you will never know.
Take a Breath
I am a third generation attorney and practically grew up in a courtroom. I love being in courthouses and courtrooms. I like watching trials and hearing, talking about cases and obscure points of law and/or evidence. It is rare that I ever feel any anxiety at a courthouse and I can usually figure out everything going on in a courtroom by just spending a few minutes observing. It took me a long time to realize how different that was from just about everybody else. It’s hard when you do this work every day to understand the high amounts of stress our clients feel just walking into the building, much less dealing with the case itself.
Going to court (particularly criminal court) is downright terrifying for most people. And it should be. There are so many unwritten rules that seem to change from court to court, there are armed bailiffs standing around, things sometimes happen that don’t make great sense and, on top of that, you’re dealing with your future on the line. The lawyers tend to speak their own language, seem not worried about things that would worry you, and really worried about stuff that seems downright trivial on the surface.
So the best thing I can tell you is to take a deep breath when you’ve got court. Do some yoga or meditation. Pray like you’ve never prayed before. Do whatever you need to do (in healthy moderation, of course) in order to keep your anxiety levels down when you’re at court. It can be really difficult to do, but it will help you a whole lot when you have to actually make some decisions.
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