THE IMPORTANCE OF TRIAL OBJECTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY

By

Mary de la Peña, Esq.

co-author of A Layman’s Guide to Criminal Defense

       

        Trial attorneys need to be on the top of their game whenever they are in trial. They need to listen to the witnesses, listen to the prosecutor, be aware of the jury’s reaction to evidence as it’s being presented, and most importantly they need to make sure that timely objections are made to whatever is happening in the court that may constitute error. That means one of the most important job they have is preserving the record for appeal by making timely objections so no issue is left on the table without a ruling.

        What do I mean by that?

An objection is in essence a “time out” called by the attorney to make sure the judge knows that the attorney believes something irregular or illegal is happening during a court proceeding. It can be during the presentation of the evidence, or during court business outside the presence of the jury, such as finding an interpreter for the defendant or witnesses; or even making objections to suggested jury instructions. All are important, and all require strict attention to detail by the attorney.

How important are timely objections?

They are so critically important that if they are not made the appellate court will not even address the issue on appeal. In other words, if the attorney does not preserve the record or make the objections by calling the “time out”, the reviewing courts will not address the issue on appeal.

In just the last two weeks several critical cases were ruled on by different Courts of Appeal in California, and in each case the courts refused to address the points presented because the attorney did not object and the issues were left on the table and never had a ruling by the trial court.

What were these issues?

These issues included:

v  whether a defendant was afforded a competent understanding of the trial by having an interpreter [People v. Sokou, 2^nd District, decided June 25, 2015];

v  whether the jury instruction given to the jury was proper and adequate [People v. Rojas, 5^th District, decided June 22, 2015]; and

v  whether the prosecutor committed error by improperly vouching for his witnesses truthfulness [4^th District, decided June 18, 2015].

As you see, these are important issues. Yet, because the attorney did not make a timely objection the defendant will never have their case completely addressed by a higher court.

What is the take-away from all of this?

If you are an attorney, make the objection even if you are over-ruled.

If you are a defendant, or a family member of a defendant, make sure your attorney knows the legal objections.

Remember—a timely objection is critical. Don’t leave it on the table.

TRANSITIONING IS A BITCH!

TRANSITIONING IS A BITCH!

It pulled me from a deep slumber, the sharp pain crushing my chest, spreading up to my throat and grabbing my jaw in a death grip. From there it spread down through my upper abdomen to my groin area, leaving my body in writhing pain.

Holy Christ! Was this the big one?

I tried to breathe through the pain, taking deep breaths, holding them and letting them out slowly. But no matter how much I tried to control my breathing it didn’t help. I took in the air as gasps and let it out in groans. The pain would not be appeased by my lowly attempts to control it with breaths.

I NEEDED AIR!

I staggered out of bed, only to be met with a wave of nausea, my undigested diner from the night before catching in my throat.

“What are the symptoms of a heart attack in women?” I kept asking myself as I staggered to my computer.

A quick perusal of http://Symptomfind.com I found an article by Dr. Tom Iarocci  from October 11, 2013, which gave me the list of symptoms which include:

1. ·         Angina: pain, discomfort, pressure or tightness in the middle of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and then comes back; sometimes mistaken for heartburn
2. ·         Pain or discomfort in upper body including arms, left shoulder, back, neck, jaw or stomach
3. ·         Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
4. ·         Cold sweat or sweating
5. ·         Feeling of indigestion, choking or heartburn
6. ·         Nausea or vomiting
7. ·         Feeling dizzy, light-headed or extremely weak
8. ·         Feeling anxious
9. ·         Rapid or irregular heart beats

Hmm, close, but was it really a heart attack?

As it turned out, it was a warning shot over my bow.

My heart was reacting to the unrelenting stress of trying to transition from my law practice into being a full time author. I was doing neither well, and the stress of underperforming was wearing on me and my body.

My choice was clear—leave the practice of law—or DIE!

Whoa! Really? The choice was that clear?

Transitions are never easy. The stress of making the choice to make the leap can be incapacitating. Leave what I have known for more than 28 years, a career in which I have been very successful, and jump into a pond with so many wide-eyed dreamers, but with so many broken hearts and broken dreams?  

Today I took the first step. I swallowed my pride and put the courts and clients on notice—I am DONE!  I can’t do it anymore.

Whew—I get cold sweats just thinking about it. But, my heart doesn’t race when I think about the future. My heart remains calm when I write, and most of all no matter how difficult the transition, the alternative when it includes dying is a BITCH!

KNOW THE EARLY WARNING SIGNS!