The best lawyer in the criminal process is not necessarily the one who always wins because that is impossible. The best lawyer is the one who lets the prosecutor know that even though the prosecutor could win, it will take him all fifteen bloody rounds to do so, and oftentimes it is not worth it. That’s the dirty little secret: no one wants to go to trial, not the judge, not the prosecutor, not the defense lawyer. A guilty plea eliminates, weeks of preparation, sleepless nights, and working weekends. Why do all that when a ten-minute guilty plea can take care of the whole case?
David Zapp