How to Lose A Gun Trial

I just completed a three day rape trial in Northern Maine.  It was a fascinating case from beginning to end:

1.  The Defendant had allegedly abducted his pregnant girlfriend from a women's shelter in 2005.  They then commenced to moving around the Northeast in an effort to avoid child protective services.  The couple surfaced in late 2006 when the alleged victim called 911 and complained that the Defendant had just assaulted her and had anally raped her some weeks before.  When he was arrested a distinctive looking Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle was found in the bedroom closet.

2.  In the resulting federal trial fin the fall of 2007 for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm (19 USC 922), the Defendant was found guilty after a three day trial.  The Government presented evidence that tied the Defendant to the gun from an ad placed by the Defendant for the sale of a car which ultimately resulted in the trade of the rifle.

3.  One central issue presented by me at the federal trial was the credibility of the central Government witness who was also the alleged victim of the rape and assault.  Her credibility was in serious doubt:

• She had recanted on the Defendant's arraignment date which seconded an earlier recantation she had made in a letter dated a week before.
• She had had a child taken by child protective sometime before running off with the Defendant in 2005.  The courts were about to terminate her parental rights when she decided to call the police in 2006.  The day she recanted the "Victim Witness Advocate" who works for the DA called child protective who came and got her newborn by the Defendant that very night.  She was not allowed to have the child back until she recanted her recantation.
• She claimed to have been abducted from the shelter by the Defendant when in fact she had called him to come get her at the shelter's secret location.
• She claims to have been isolated and controlled by the Defendant for the year they were on the lam but there was an extensive journal of telephone calls and love notes in her hand for the year which showed she had active use of the telephone.
• Shortly after being "abducted from the shelter she claims to have been forced to marry the defendant.  The marriage was witnessed by an EMT with training in domestic violence and his wife who saw no signs of distress.
• She claims to have been forced to stay away from a protection order proceeding which was brought at the behest of child protective and yet she later testified that she was 100 feet away from the courthouse on that very day getting 23000 for the sale of some real estate.
• Numerous neighbors testified that they saw nothing unusual about her during the year that she lived near them which was during the time that she claimed to have been isolated.  She was often seen walking alone to the store and post office.
• A second set of witnesses had minor problems.

In sum I had a lot to work with.  Unfortunately for the Defendant the guy who sold him the gun had no axe to grind and there was plenty of direct evidence tying my guy to the gun.  I looked it as a dress rehearsal for the main event which was the real trial.  The central witnesses credibility was again at issue on the same items.  The rape case, however, was in theory much easier because the concrete evidence that was relevant to the gun case was irrelevant to the rape case.  It was to be a classic he said/she said situation.

It is not exactly a secret that my client was difficult.  Much of the client's problems will remain buried in the attorney-client privilege.  Many, many letters were written by him to the court describing my perceived incompetence and ever so helpfully outlining our trial strategy for the prosecution.  I lost count of how many times I was "fired."  Did I mention I was his third lawyer?  This fellow was without a doubt the most difficult personality I have ever represented.

At the conclusion of the federal case, the client had a verbal outburst in front of the jury.  I moved for a mistrial but the Judge ruled that the Defendant could not create his own mistrial.  He has yet to be sentenced. 

This is all by way of preview.  My next post describes the weird turns this case took in the state rape case.