Ever vigilant, Gideon at A Public Defender bring us a newspaper article quoting the defense lawyer for Hartford, Connecticut Paster Modesto Reyes, to the effect that this client (who wants to go to trial) is guilty and should have taken a plea.  In memory of Phil Rizzuto, “Holy Cow!”

I don’t know the lawyer, William Gerace, and thus can’t speculate as to what he was possibly thinking, but it’s hard to imagine he was thinking at all.  Remember how your mother told you, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”  Why Gerace felt compelled to open his mouth is beyond comprehension.

Which leads us into another lawyers and the media discussion.  About the best reason I can think of for Gerace to have talked to the reporter was that he had an irresistible compulsion to see his name in the paper.  Lawyers love to see their names in the paper, or their mugs on TV.  Lawyers love publicity.  It’s some sort of validation of their importance.  What it shows is how desperate some lawyers are for acknowledgment.  It’s a problem.

Most lawyers think they are brilliant dealing with the media.  The media counts on this stunningly poor assessment of PR skills to beef up their stories.  After all, stories without quotes are boring, and boring stories don’t make it into the papers or onto TV.  It generally doesn’t matter what the lawyer says, only the he says something.  And lawyers are almost always happy, no, chomping at the bit, to comply. 

But playing with the media is a very dangerous game.  First, they hold all the cards.  They decide what people hear, regardless of what you meant to say or, sometimes, what you in fact said.  Second, the media has its own jargon, such as “off the record” and “not for attribution” that eludes many lawyers.  For some unknown reason, people think that a reporter will announce when the “interview” starts, and think they can speak freely without fear of consequences until the reporter proclaims, “the interview will now begin.”  Nope, doesn’t work that way.  The minute sounds utter from your mouth, you are on the record.  And the more intimate or private your disclosure, the more likely it’s going to make it into the news.

For lawyers, this ignorance of the process can be extremely damaging.  You’re speaking for someone else, and they will be tarred with your words, whether intentional or not.  The media sees this as “the court of public opinion,” but as my good friend Diarmuid White always said, “in the court of public opinion, there’s no appeal.” 

Gideon suggests that William Gerace’s comments, damning to his client in advance of trial, was a CYA move.  There are few things more inappropriate for a lawyer to do than cover his own butt at the expense of his client.  It’s antithetical to our purpose, and wholly unacceptable.  If Gerace was unhappy with his client’s decision, then he should have kept it to himself.  If he absolutely had to say something, it should have been along the lines of “every defendant has to weigh the risk of his choices, and Paster Reyes has made his decision to go to trial.”  Nice quote.  Means nothing.  Doesn’t compromise his client.

For lawyers who are either inexperienced in dealing with the media, or just not very good at it, there’s an important lesson here.  Work to your strength, not your weaknesses.  Either get instruction on dealing with the media, have someone else do it or stay away.  But never play games for your own ego at the expense of your client.  You won’t look good.  Your client won’t look good and you will come to regret it.