Wayne Gretzky was one of the best hockey players ever to put on skates. He had a great line which is the title to this post "You miss 100% of the shots you never take.’ That advice is very true for criminal defense lawyers. A criminal defense attorney must take the shot early and often.
I see time and time again where a criminal defense attorney waives a preliminary hearing. Why ? My usual answer is lazy or does not want to make the assistant district attorney or judge mad. Take the shot . .Develop a defense. Show your client your are fighting for them. Exploit some weakness in the case that will help you at trial or drive a more favorable plea bargain.
The probable cause for the traffic stop is questionable. File the motion to suppress . Take the shot. Here is a recent example of taking the shot. Client arrested with a .37 BAC. The stop was in question based on State of Tennessee v Kirk Williams . If you are a DUI attorney you must read and understand this important case. So , I file the motion and we were able to resolve the case to a favorable result.
If you are going to hire an attorney , ask them about their take on hearings , motions , or trials. Do you want to entrust your case to a lawyer who won’t take a shot. Wayne Gretzky is 100% right. I will keep on taking my shots. I hope others follow. Who knows you might be holding up the trophy or hearing the two word verdict.