Victory

Friday was a day that I'll probably remember the rest of my legal career: I got my first case dismissed. (Which basically means I won.) I wrote a motion to dismiss a case for lack of probable cause. (Unfortunately, they didn't let me do oral arguments since I'm a 1L, but I didn't mind.) In other words, I argued successfully that the cops and prosecutor simply did not have enough evidence to back up the charges.

The case is a fairly high profile murder case -- it got a lot of newspaper coverage a couple of weeks ago. Our guy was being charged as an accomplice after the fact. In essence, the charges were totally overblown. He may be guilty of something like disorderly conduct, but in no way was he an accessory to murder. The judge agreed. Our guy goes free, and my record on the summer moves to 1-0.

I was probably lucky to win my first case. Public defenders don't win much. I'm sure my record will drop to 1-5 in the next couple of weeks. But on Friday, I felt great about my job, great about my education, and great about my career choice. Nothing feels better than winning.