FIGHT (FOR) YOUR CLIENTS

BY DEONTE’ THOMAS | WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE

SPOILER ALERT: LAW IS A STRESSFUL OCCUPATION. It causes anxiety like no other job, and the physical and mental rigors of practice can push you to the brink. Even when that happens, it is rarely wise to get in your client’s face. Trust me, I know.

Now let me back up and set the scene. On a Sunday afternoon, I went to the Wake County Detention Center to speak with my client, who was charged with a serious, violent crime. The case against him was strong, but not insurmountable. As I laid out the facts of the case for my client, I told him couldn’t promise him that he was going home. I discussed the case with him at length and all of his options.

Rather than discuss the plea, he told me that I was the worst lawyer in existence and demanded that I bring him to court immediately so he could fire me and represent himself. The next day, in front of a packed courtroom, he told the judge that I was a racist(note: we are both black) because I told him, “We are probably going be the only two black people in the courtroom,” and that he needed to consider the reality of his race and how it will factor into the outcome of his criminal case.

My client could not handle this unfortunate reality. Rather than rely on my years of experience as a trial attorney and certified specialist in criminal law, my client informed the judge that he wanted to fire me for what he described as my “keeping it real.”

I was offended by the fact that my client didn’t consider attorney-client confidentiality to be a two-way street. In any event, he was allowed to proceed pro se.

Apparently my candor had shaken this man’s opinion of the criminal justice system to the point where he thought it best to proceed alone. I was annoyed and felt slighted, but such is life as a public defender.

Mere days later, with Mr. Pro Se’s actions still heavy on my mind, I saw another young man that I represented on a serious drug charge in court. As I approached him, I gave him an acknowledging head nod, but continued on because he was in the middle of a conversation with another one of my clients.

After I passed him by, but intentionally loud enough to make sure I heard, the former client said, “He ain’t sh*&! I had to fire that MF’er and go get a real lawyer!” My other client immediately began to debate him about my merit and defended me as a knowledgeable and skilled attorney.

The derogatory and flippant line from my former client will be familiar to anyone that has ever practiced court-appointed work. Statements like those simply come with the territory. I am positive that soon after the work of Clarence Gideon made it possible to have an appointed lawyer, his cellmate was trying to figure out how to fire his assigned counsel.

I refrained from responding to these types of remarks numerous times, but this morning felt different. I reflexively raised my voice and dared him to say it again.

Seeing as how I had a good six inches and at least two weight classes on this guy, he declined to do so. That was not my finest moment. I knew in that moment there was a better choice to make, but for some reason my emotions got the best of me.

FIGHT (FOR) YOUR CLIENTS, CONTINUED

BY DEONTE’ THOMAS | WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE

I returned to my office still fuming about the situation. This surprised me, as this is not my typical demeanor. I am generally an even-keeled and composed person. Even a reporter once wrote that I was “extremely affable and gregarious.” And after I googled those words, I agreed. This was not one of my affable days.

I vented to my coworkers. The first attorney I complained to is not only my professional advisor, but also my marriage counselor and life coach. I told him what occurred and how I had not always had a temper. He wisely observed that because I now have a 2-year-old toddler and an infant in the house, my “patience tank” is well-depleted and I’m not as willing to use what little remains on grown men.

He is exactly right — lawyers are defined by their skill set alone, but by their ability to effectively navigate taxing choices in professionalism. It is easy to forget how similarly draining family life can be. (For the record, I love my family, but we all know that life at home can be exhausting with young children. After all, I’m the lawyer who gets fired for telling my client the truth, as opposed to what they wanted to hear.)

It was at this point in the conversation that another coworker chimed in, “I think it’s because you try to be everyone’s friend.”

That statement took me aback, and even hurt. Isn’t that what we are supposed to be? I like to talk to people, engage with people, and know them. I’m the same with my clients. Being true to one’s own nature is an asset to a lawyer. Judges and juries see through it when you try to sell them something that you don’t believe. I was taught this important lesson early on in my professional career.

After graduating from law school, I began working at the Fair Trial Initiative in Durham practicing death penalty work. The unofficial motto there was, “Be your client’s friend.” This meant getting to know them, getting to know what their goals were professionally and personally, and getting to know their family well enough to recruit them as an ally in pursuing your client’s best interests.

We were often the main, and sometimes only, point of contact for our clients facing the death penalty. Often, the only decision in that client’s control was whether they would accept a penalty of life in prison or gamble with going to trial. In those situations, you are talking to someone about spending more time in jail than they have been alive. The gravity of these decisions cannot be underestimated.

In those moments, an attorney must rely on their credibility, expertise and rapport so the client can make an informed decision. In those moments, it makes a significant difference if the client considers his attorney a friend, a person they can trust and respect, someone who knows them and cares about their future.

The client’s belief that you are sincerely looking out for their best interests is just as important as impressing them with your legal acumen. (I firmly believe that my ability to convince a sheriff’s deputy to allow my client to listen to 2Pac with me on my iPod is the only reason that one of my former clients accepted a plea offer in one of my capital cases.)

Jay applied for court-appointed counsel and was appointed one of the most well-known attorneys in Wake County. Initially, I was happy that a high-profile attorney had been assigned to a person I considered to be a brother. However, it quickly became apparent that some “big-time” attorneys were not trained the same way I was at FTI.

I visited Jay in jail constantly. His attorney, however, barely saw him at all. The only person from the firm who visited Jay was an associate who, just like me, was fresh out of law school. The lead attorney did not spend any time with Jay. He didn’t build a rapport, and he never learned who Jay was as a person. He simply didn’t care.

When it came time for Jay to consider a plea, he relied on me to communicate the offer to him. And when it came time for Jay’s sentencing, his attorney read a letter written by one of Jay’s friends rather than formulate his own argument based upon his knowledge of Jay’s life and circumstances. To make matters worse, the attorney passed off the letter as his own argument.

While it was a great letter, full of anecdotes about Jay that showed the full breadth and depth of Jay outside of the worst mistake that he made in a fleeting moment, the words came across as hollow because the attorney clearly did not know Jay.

The words were devoid of meaning because the attorney never attempted to know Jay and earn his trust. I know it’s not feasible to establish a genuine relationship with every client. There will be many clients with whom we only spend one or two meetings, but it is imperative that a lawyer build a rapport with the client. In doing so, the client will be more likely to heed the advice of his attorney. Good lawyering demands that. Professionalism demands that.

Your personal knowledge of your client will make your arguments more compelling to the judge, jury or in negotiations with the prosecutor. You can show the court, prosecutor and jury that your client is more than the worst moment in his life.

Just the other day I was in the Cameron Village Harris Teeter when I heard someone yell my name from another register. To my surprise, it was Mr. Pro Se, the client that cursed me out and fired me in front of a room full of people months earlier. He was giddy to tell me that he was enrolled at Wake Tech and studying Information Technology. He was now vegan.

Mr. Pro Se asked how my kids were. I asked how his Mom was doing (she had cursed me out, too). Here was a man that truly hated me just a few months ago, but there we were, catching up like old friends.

After leaving the store, I followed up on the case to assess Mr. Pro Se’s legal acumen. Not surprisingly, he accepted the same offer that I worked extremely hard to get for him. The major difference being that he sat in jail unnecessarily for several more months because he thought he knew better.

SECOND QUARTER 2020WAKE BAR FLYER 20

I have also seen the importance of friendship, candor and rapport play out in my personal relationships. Shortly after graduating from law school, one of my best friends from college, Jay, got into legal trouble. Jay is a genuine person and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. However, snap decisions put him in a position of being charged with a serious crime. It also put me in the position of seeing one of the most dependable people in my life sitting behind bars, when only the week before he had been sitting beside me in a Starbucks studying for the LSAT.

I left that conversation feeling thankful that he recognized that I was always working for his best interests, even if he didn’t see it then. I’m certain there will be times in the future that I will want to get in my client’s face, but at least they will know that I will always fight for them. WBF

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