In the Court of public opinion and the media there are no rules of evidence, no burdens of proof, no cross examination – no questions and no answers.
In emotionally charged cases such as the ones that we defend at Smith Lehman, P.C. our clients are often convicted in the media long before they ever have their day in court. They are presumed guilty until we prove them innocent.
In cases like ours, our clients are considered guilty based on the mere allegations before any evidence is ever heard. The constitutional rights associated with being charged with a crime go out the window.
The attorneys at Smith Blythe, P.C., and our clients, begin to mount a defense before they’ve ever been arraigned. We are defending our clients not just against the government but against the media and every person that reads the articles or social media posts.
Prosecutors and law enforcement often make statements to the media in support of their burden of proof – beyond a reasonable doubt – long before any evidence has been heard by a judge.
For example, in one of our cases, the County Prosecutor gave his opinion about one of the charges stating that our client did something in order to complete a sexual assault. The facts did not and do not support that statement. This client is currently awaiting trial but our attorneys have already been successful in getting a large number of the charges reduced or dismissed.
In another case, a police chief told the media that there is a near 100% conviction rate in his city for the crimes that our client was charged with. In this case, the client was found Not Guilty by a jury.
As a result of the media reports and social media posts about our cases, our clients are often called horrific names, their lives threatened, and their families forced to move from their homes in fear. Those that write these articles and make these posts do not consider the consequences of their words.
They do not consider that someone’s life could be irreversibly harmed because of them. Instead, they continue to try our clients in their courts of public opinion, finding them guilty before ever hearing a word of admissible evidence – before ever hearing the truth.
In situations like these, we at Smith Blythe, P.C. have found that the best defense is a successful offense.
Many attorneys feel that it is better not to speak to the media while cases are pending.
We feel differently. At Smith Blythe, P.C. we have become well-versed in speaking with the media and have been quoted on a number of occasions. We have developed strong relationships with local media personalities and have worked to vindicate our clients upon dismissal or acquittal of their charges. Our attorneys do not sit idly by as our clients are tried in these media courts of public opinion.
At Smith Lehman, P.C., we fight back. We’ll see you in the arena.