“Beginner’s Mind”: Getting Your Mind Right To Do This Work To do your best work in this field, your mind needs to be in the right place. This means a number of things—figuring out: how to approach the work, being willing to do the work, and keeping an open mind.

Handling Your Cases and Your Caseload Organizing the individual trial file Contents – police reports – lab - ballistics, microanalysis, etc. – (protocol & tox) – answer to discovery – charging documents) – possibly: medical records – photos Indexes

INVESTIGATION INDEX NAME OF CASE CASE NUMBER ATTORNEY Name of WitnessLocation InformationType: location in police reports or transcripts Dates, times, locations of contact or attempt Comments

WITNESS INDEX NAME OF CASE CASE NUMBER ATTORNEY Name of WitnessType of WitnessPage number in police reports Other Locations

Representing With Courage and Devotion: Creating and Working With a Team

regular team meetings, put yourself and your team on a schedule, and make time to brainstorm the case. Who should be on the team? Attorneys Investigator Paralegal Mitigation/social science person

Qualities of the Team each team member should be at least competent (if not outstanding) in their area The team needs to be both collaborative and cooperative A good team member values, participates in and encourages good communication The “24 hour”rule

Handling & Understanding the Players in the System

One of the most challenging aspects of criminal defense is dealing with the players in the system: police jail guards bailiffs Prosecutors clerks Judges the victim media

The Client and Communication

Communication and Learning the Language largest source of client complaints to the bar, employers, and supervisors has to do with client communication. Your client must not only be well-represented, he or she must feel well-represented

Finding the way to win (investigation and preparation) Brainstorming Investigation Scene Assessment and Canvassing Investigate By Wandering Around Developing Your Theory of the Case Theme and Theory