When Dallas criminal defense lawyer Robert Guest started blogging, he called his place I Was The State.  It was his way of letting us know that he was fresh out of the District Attorney's office, and that his experience there was something worthy of recognition, a valuable asset in itself, now that he was on the side of truth and justice.

More than a year and a half have passed since then, and today, Robert has written his prosecutorial swan song.  Prompted by the efforts of the Texas Tornado, Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett, who is also the current President of the Harris County Criminal Bar Association, as well as the well-deserved front runner for best criminal blawg in the ABA Blawg 100 (have you voted yet?), Robert's insight offers much to the many men and women whose careers in criminal law began in the prosecutor's office and wound their way to the defense side.

The longer I defend cases the more I realize that the two skill sets (prosecuting and defending criminal cases) are mutually exclusive. Prosecution can make one a better criminal attorney in general. Creating a better defense lawyer requires defense experience, inter alia.

Does my prosecution experience help my current clients? Yes, but not as much as more defense work would have.

This is a revelation that many former prosecutors would prefer be deep-sixed.  Like a dirty little secret, they know that the public is of the belief that a former prosecutor offers them a benefit, an edge, that they wouldn't obtain otherwise.  When former prosecutors go out on their own, they heavily promote this status to exploit this public belief.  The benefits are two-fold; it's a belief that will convince potential clients that the newly-minted criminal defense lawyer has credibility, and it's the only thing that have to promote.

I've posted in the past about the ethics of former prosecutors exploiting this status to get clients.  That being an ex-prosecutor is a fact, part of one's professional background, is undeniable.  That this fact somehow provides clients with an edge is deceptive and misleading.  Still, it's a pervasive marketing tool.

The problem is that it's a lie.  With experience under his belt, Robert proves that he's made the full transition from being a former prosecutor to being a criminal defense lawyer by his recognition of the significant distinction.  Robert goes through a fairly extensive list of these differences here, and they are definitely worth reading.  They may not be exactly the same as another ex-prosecutor's experience, but some of the points are universal.

Just yesterday, I welcomed Murray Newman, about-to-be-former Harris County prosecutor, to the defense ranks.  For those of you who plan to switch sides, or have recently done so, give this a lot of thought.  Robert's final thoughts, aside from the technical differences in the skillset involved, merits special attention:

I do not believe that someone who has been prosecuting serious felony cases for years can not defend a case. The possibility is there. A lifelong ADA would have a better chance than a PI/Bankruptcy lawyer. 

However, only years of zealous defense advocacy can make one a better defense attorney. It's not just the procedure and penal code. It's the fundamental belief system that defines each side

Until you realize this, you're not really a criminal defense lawyer.  Robert Guest is a criminal defense lawyer.  Are you?