Local juries send a message to local defense attorneys

It did not work in the Bodhi Tree case, it did not work in the William Nelson case. Blaming law enforcement, character assassination of prosecution witnesses doesn't  sell, unless it can be proven; especially when it is overused.

Both cases had unrepentant defendants with a grudge. Would the result have been different if we had seen a sympathetic or human side to the defendant?

Both cases had prosecutors, in the Bodhi Tree case, former DDA Elan Firpo; and in the Nelson case, ADA Kelly Neel that presented the facts but also did an excellent job of making the case human and personal. They were powerful but not aggressive, they were respectful.

In an overworked District Attorney's office, kudos to both ladies. Local juries this year give me hope.

Upcoming is a jury trial that will hit very close to home for me. Gary Lee Bullock, I hope, in January 2015, will finally stand trial for his brutal murder of Fr. Eric Freed. His attorney, Kaleb Cockrum, is the one who made me change my mind about defense attorneys. I was on a jury for a high profile case.

What Kaleb did in a difficult case was make the defendant human, he raised reasonable doubt. He was successful for his client. Bullock could not have hoped for a better lawyer.

I don't know who will prosecute the Bullock case but I hope that the DA's office thinks carefully about that decision. Will the prosecutor  be able to convince a jury of the tremendous international loss, the impact on thousands of lives and put a local, human, real face to the case. Just being well-versed in the law is not good enough. That prosecutor needs to understand who Fr. Eric was to this community and that extends beyond the Catholic church.