But when you operate in the world of Criminal Defense, sometimes people say stuff about you that you just don’t think would be great at a snotty dinner party at the country club. Then again, if you operate in the world of Criminal Defense, you probably couldn’t care less about the country club.

Today, I got a message from one of my clients’ mothers. It states: “I know you said nothing would happen yesterday, but so much did happen. You are always in command of a room, Adrian, but the courtroom is your Carnagie Hall…..Just the little things you did in court yesterday, gave me so much confidence that if there is a way for M to beat this one, you will do it. You were on top of it to say the least. The other day when you called I had you on speaker phone in the car. S was there, as well as M’s [brother] and two of M’s closest friends. G [one of the friends] has been very upset by M’s incarceration. He just doesn’t know how to deal with it. After we hung up from our conversation, G’s comment was,”M’s lawyer is badass.”
“We are all happy to have you as our lawyer and pleased as punch that you are badass.”

The idea of being in control of a room and being a badass has a lot to do with experience and bearing. Not too many folks get the opportunity to “perform” the role of trial lawyer on a day to day basis, so the confidence that comes from walking into a room and doing a job is not easily translated to most folks. Particularly in a very formalized and ritualized setting like a Courtroom.

I take the compliment as it is meant, an appreciation for making the family and the client feel at ease in a tense moment. It is, of course, welcome to have nice things said about you. It is also nice when someone calls you a Badass.

So to my client’s mom, I say thank you. I’ve worked in these arenas for many years to get to the place I am in my career. I’ve had plenty of sand kicked in my face. To be called a Badass is nice. Thanks.

The Divine Right of Kings was a way that a ruler pretended to take their
power from God, in order to impose his/her might upon others. When a ruler took territory by force, it was all thanks to God, and therefore the Will of God that the shift of power took place.

Today, we see this manifestation on the football fields and awards ceremony platforms of the various places where we exist. And while giving thanks to the Deity is not inappropriate or bad (quite the contrary), it is not something which the Founders of the USA envisioned regarding the relationship between rulers and the ruled.

It was the Law, in their mind, which should be the final decider of right or wrong. The idea of “Rule of Law” is, on its face, a contradiction to prior millennia of human cultural understanding. Where we had a King (or Empress, High Priest, Chief, or whatever) who was special because God willed it, we were supposed to shift into a place where we were all equal in the eyes of the Law. Our fundamental framework rejects the notion of celebrity and champion being treated differently than the average guy on the street.

But our culture just doesn’t want to give-up on the past so easily.

When this manifests in celebrities being treated with more respect or leniency by a Court or a Prosecutor, then we certainly know something is wrong. When, because of perceived ‘power’ or ‘special’ status, one person is elevated in the eyes of the system over another, justice is not done.

Demanding from the system that which was intended is an important part of being an advocate, not just for the client, but for the fundamental concept of Rule of Law. Working through these ideas in the context of criminal cases is an important factor in getting the best results you can for your client.