Jury Trial Victory: Confidential Informant Felony Drug Case
It’s easy to let fear take control when the stakes are high. When there are real, tangible consequences to your actions (or inactions), the easy road is tempting to travel. Even if the results down that road are not ideal, even if the results are negative, it becomes simple to justify if the stakes are high enough. But when it comes to a person’s freedom, the path of least resistance is not the path to take.
What am I talking about? Last week, Maxwell Shek, drug crime attorney in MN, went to jury trial, and won, securing the freedom of his client. Prior to his entry into the case, the defendant’s acting counsel was in the process of walking him into a plea deal that would have set him behind bars for years.
This was the easy road. Avoiding a jury trial and the challenges of presenting a compelling case to a jury would give the attorney a straightforward and simple path… that would have put that client behind bars. As a drug crime attorney in MN, Maxwell Shek could see the holes in the States story and decided to present the case to a jury to show them these inconsistencies and give this man his freedom.
Drug Crime Attorney in MN Exposes the Flaws in the States Story
With the client facing a felony drug sales charge with a sentence of 25 years, understanding the whole picture was key. The prosecutor previously filed an upward departure motion to sentence my client to the full sentence. As a drug crime attorney in MN, Maxwell Shek had seen his fair share of “problematic” evidence, and this evidence fell into that category. Considering this man’s freedom was on the line, no stone was to be left unturned.
The police had claimed that they had seen the defendant buy drugs from a “reliable” confidential informant. Once it was discovered that law enforcement did not actually “see” any such buy, it was clear to Attorney Shek that this whole case rested on the testimony of one, what they called “reliable”, confidential informant.
It didn’t take long to see find out that the informant was not reliable and had actually been charged with theft in the past, a fact that the persecutors tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from the jury. They objected to exposing that conviction, and the underlying facts, even during opening arguments. The judge overruled every objection.
MN Drug Crime Attorney Maxwell Shek Sets the Tone for the Trial By Uncovering the Truth
The jury saw this. Having the judge consistently side with the defendant set the tone for the whole trial. Seeing the prosecution work so hard to keep the past out of the court made them listen even more intently. No one wants to be misled and the jury felt like they were trying to keep parts of the story out of reach. That was a mistake.
By the time the confidential informant had been cross-examined by drug attorney in MN, Maxwell Shek, the jury didn’t believe a word he said. It laid bare and put on display the character and type of person the confidential informant was. If they didn’t believe he was honest about other matters, they weren’t going to put a man in prison based on his word alone.
Finding the Right Angle
Not all attorneys would take on this case. On the surface, it didn’t seem winnable at first. What MN drug crime attorney Maxwell Shek noticed was the ambiguous language that wasn’t clear on exactly how the client had been identified. This was where his search for the truth began.
In closing arguments, the prosecution argued in favor of their informant’s character, saying he was a former addict that had changed his ways, becoming an informant to help others from going down the same path. At this point, the jury knew that the informant had already had criminal charges dropped and could assume his true motivations for being an informant.
The prosecutor set up Dakota County and Minneapolis area drug crime attorney Maxwell Shek to point the jury to the question at hand: had the state proven, without a reasonable doubt, that the client had done what he was accused of doing? Making the jury focus on their witness in a drug crime case with issues gave the jury the impression the State was trying to divert their attention. The jury didn’t believe the State had and decided in favor of the defense, letting an innocent man walk free.
The Power of a Trial
Trial is one of the most powerful tools of the defense lawyer. Don’t retain a lawyer if they aren’t willing to go there. Your case outcomes may depend on if you have a trial or not.
If you have need of a drug or prescription drug crimes attorney in Dakota County, MN, Maxwell Shek is the counsel you should seek. If you have been charged with a drug crime in MN and need someone with the skills and the knowledge to help you navigate those waters, reach out to Maxwell Shek and set up a consultation.