Trial Advocacy 2nd Part

Now the old court room was a wooden floor. Had that oily sawdust you might say on that. Not 25 feet across from the council table was a brass spit tune and an old iron radiator, while the prosecutor was pooping. My defense, compered a putt, to the pistol. Well like sometimes will happen to you in your trial a flash hit man a swept that perks of the table. It rose across court room and huanged into that radiator. And my, apology to the court was accepted but, jury got the point and found my client not guilty!

In 1966 when Fort Worth came to prosecute Melvin Stuart Pittman 18 year old boy who killed a fish man on the shore of lake Arlington. After visiting for a while, Pittman walked about 10 paces sort of happen incline. And the moon was shining on the man’s back. Pittman in his confessions say,” I took these 10 paces up and shouted “HEY!” The man turned. Moon shining on his face, and I shot that sucker right between the eyes, POW!” I demonstrated that in my jury argument and one of the juriologist but juriologist by jumped out of their skin. Pittman got the death penalty but was reduced to life by ferment V Georgia.

Kenneth Mcduff also was reduced to life, Kenneth Mcduff. Kenneth Mcduff was Roy day or green. As his teenage accomplice abducted 2 boys and a girl, put the girl in the back seat with him, stuffed the 2 boys in the trunk drove to the corn field, lifted the trunk shot the 2 boys in the head after raping the girl, killed the girl by stepping on her… broomstick across her throat! Possum style as he called it. Well Mcduff’s lawyer made a fatal mistake of asking Kenneth, ”well now Kenneth you got into little bit of trouble, didn’t you? As a teenager bet you paid you’re debt to society and have been a good since. Isn’t that right?” Mcduff smiled and said,” Yes Sir, I sure have!” well that opened the door wide open for GI truck on cross examination. I had obtained his record so I ask him, “Kenneth tells the jury what you’re lawyer meant by, a little bit of trouble! Did he mean you were convicted for 4 burglaries, and served time on that? Did he mean that you were trialed for assault with attempt to rape? Or that you were on parole when you committed, these 3 cold blooded murders? Is that what you meant?” action taken and words spoken. Freddy Seman his brother judge George N. Seman were inducted in the first class, of TC the LA hall of fame.

We’ll discuss Freddy’s miraculous acquittal in a case of all call a case of lethal hands. Freddy Clarke got crosswise with a drug dealer. A rival drug dealer! They took him out in the country in a car, the drug dealer and he beat him about the face and head, very severely. Threw him in a car and took off. When the man was moaning and groaning in the back seat and about been beats of bad. Or the deceased dealer hit his brakes and said,” Oh you haven’t had enough?” the client somehow had gotten a gun and he shot the dealer in the back of the head from the back seat and killed him.

Freddy was hard to defend him. Frank Castiyoun homicide detective had been a champion boxer in the Navy and had refried a lot in and around San Antonio. So Fred qualified castiyoune’s next pert based upon his years in asking to hold up his hands, hold up your fears! As with those be lethal weapons or the deadly weapons! Yes, they would be. As a matter of fact the defendant or deceased was himself a boxer and yes it could be that they were deadly weapons.

The jury found client not guilty. Why? Because of action taken and words spoken by the dealer. On my final case in Texas versus Albert Medina, I like to call it a case of the bleeding hearts. My client Albert Medina was snookered out of his weekly pay by 2 pool sharks from parker heights. Everybody thought I was crazy for having a, constable on the jury. But I was a pretty good pool player myself and spent some of the better times of my years in the pool halls. And I knew something about pool sharks. Well he was on the jury and they found my client not guilty. Now interestingly enough, when the sharks got in their car and started to run off, my client ran up to em’, jerked open the door and drew down on em’ and demanded rest of his money, the return of his money. As the driver handed him his wallet…as Albert reached for it in the mud all in that instant, the driver lunged down at him. He shot twice, killed the driver and seriously wounded the passenger.

This illustrates the value of a photograph, not only of a photograph but the value of checking all of the photographs in the DA’s file. One photograph showing the driver lined pruned back on the driver seat, both feet on the ground, square to the car; no way it could be other than what my client said. That he shot him as he lunged back at him. Well the jury found him not guilty and gave Albert 6 months, aggravated assault on the passenger.

The pool judge, judge Avits, wonderful old judge, was retiring. That was the last case he trial, that I trialed in front of him. I had respect for him because he blew a fuse at the verdict and severely chastised the jury, told em’ he was glad he was retiring because my clients filling up with bleeding hearts. Well that tirade got the attention on online bilton and surrounding papers but national as well. Well I had respect for the judge, for being able to keep his feelings from the jury. That’s pretty rare!

So I obtained permission to address the court and told em’ it was distinct honor for me to appear before him in his last case. But he mellowed, thanked me for the way I trialed the case, thanked the jury for their verdict and wished them well and Albert was found as I say, not guilty. Well, since he had been in bell county jail for 6 months, he walked out without having serve any more time. He gave his trustee reviver to me and I in turn gave it to the district attorney. This might what be called a consolation prize. Thus ended the case of the bleeding hearts…