On a recent episode of the Five-Minute Legal Insights podcast top Criminal Defense Attorney Kristin Paulding founder at 7 Cities Law in Virginia Beach, VA outlines her court trials winning strategy. For more information please visit https://7citieslaw.com
Virginia Beach, VA, United States – August 31, 2021 /MM-REB/ —
Confidence, being well-researched and prepared are the core principles for a winning strategy to defend clients in court, Virginia-based defense lawyer Kristin Paulding has revealed.
For more information please visit https://7citieslaw.com
On a recent episode of the Five-Minute Legal Insights podcast, Paulding said: “When it comes to game time, your lawyer needs to be ready. That’s why you need a lawyer who has a good work-life balance and who is confident when they go into court..”
Paulding, of Virginia Beach’s 7 Cities Law Attorney, elaborated on her approach to a court case and how it achieves the best results for a client.
The first step is to become familiar with the case and what has happened so far for a client. She said: “Sometimes I get into a case as soon as the person is arrested and I can track each step from the beginning.”
“But, there are many circumstances where a client has been in the case for three or four months, and maybe they had another lawyer, and then they call me to represent them. At this point, I need to familiarize myself with the history of the case. That relates to whether the person is in jail, have they had a bond hearing and what court dates have already happened.”
The next phase is to assess what the client is charged with by referring to the Statutes, what does the law say and what is the prosecutor going to have to do to find my client guilty.”
“I want an initial feel for the case, so I next turn to the facts and try to figure out what happened. Once I get a good understanding of the what happened I can determine if there is enough evidence to find my client guilty.
“From the outset, you’re trying to figure out what parts of the law you can attack with the little information that you know so far,” she related.
Then, she will collect all the information together – from the prosecutor, her client, the client’s family, whether there are witnesses and any electronic evidence. She said: “It’s like an information dump. I try to gather as much information as possible.
“For example, if I am going to argue that you have an alibi then I need to gather alibi witnesses and any other evidence to show you were in another place at the time the crime occurred.”
“Were you at home watching Netflix? If so, what programme were you watching? Were you with friends or playing a video game? I need to get as much evidence to put you in a different location at the time of the crime.
“The aim is to create doubt. With every single case you are trying to create doubt, and you do this by always questioning the Commonwealth’s evidence.”
Paulding added: “When you assess the information from the police, you look to pick holes in it. And while some good detectives cover every base, you inevitably find opportunities or holes that you can attack or exploit for your client’s defense.”
On trial strategy, she confessed to an unusual approach by building her case backwards: her closing arguments to a judge or jury are her starting point. She elaborated: “I write my closing arguments first. It’s a strategy I learned in law school, and it has worked well over the years.”
She added: “Then I make a list of what I need to do, Such as calling witnesses, bringing forward images, and shaping different ways the evidence I know will come into my closing argument.
“For example, if we have ten people in a trial, then I favor having pictures and their names in a PowerPoint presentation. If there is a video I want to print out still shots and enlarge areas of the video that are helpful for me.
Paulding concluded: “Once you’ve done all of your preparation, it’s game time. You go out and execute your strategy and hope for the best result.”
Contact Info:
Name: Kristin Paulding
Email: Send Email
Organization: 7 Cities Law
Address: Building 4, #423, 291 Independence Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Phone: 757-716-7494
Website: https://7citieslaw.com
Source: MM-REB
Release ID: 89043335