Massachusetts Police Brutality

Winning in Court


Winning in Court

1) Have Literate, Calm Representation

Whether you represent yourself, or hire an attorney to represent yourself, you must be literate or have very literate, articulate representation. You will observe that the people that win in court express themselves very well. People that lose in court express themselves poorly. Think for a moment about the differences between Tyson and O.J. in court. Don't copy O.J.'s behavior except as he behaved in court. In court, be more like O.J. and less like Tyson.

2) You have the right to remain silent.

Use your right to be silent. Don't volunteer any information to police. What you say can be misunderstood through no fault of your own. Don't debate the police. If you challenge the police to a debate, they may feel challenged to compete and win the debate. If you turn the situation into a game, the police will think long and hard about how to beat you. Make them forget you. Be bland and forgettable.

3) Be polite to everybody. Smile a little, even if it kills you.

Forget acting like the Rambo types you see in the movies. Judges, Lawyers and Police don't understand anger. They don't understand that you have the right to be angry and to express that anger. They just want to get their job over with and get home. It won't kill you to smile a little. Make them forget you. Be bland and almost friendly.

4) Parry the Thrust

The first thing you want to do in any criminal charge is to parry the thrust. You want to remove any danger to yourself before you plan your counter-thrust. Take the surest path to escape prison. Take the path which leaves you with the most backup options. If you try a plea and it fails, you still have option 2, which is a trial. If you eliminate option 1, you've eliminated half your chances to escape prison or parole. It's more difficult to fight when you're in jail.

5) Make it easy for your lawyer.

Write a report and give it to your lawyer. If he only uses one phrase, you have helped yourself and your lawyer. The easier you make it for him, the more time he can spend doing whatever he needs to do to get you off.

6) Be truthful and concise.

In court I admitted to "A struggle over the Mace". The judge filled in all of the other details herself. That statement went on my record, not the crap proposed by the police prosecutor.

7) Counter Thrust!

After you have parried the thrust made by the state, then counter thrust in such a way that you will not jeopardize your parole. Consider Pro-Se actions. They won't cost as much as hiring a lawyer and you will learn about the law. Be careful as to not incriminate youself. Might be wise to wait a year until the terms of your parole have been met.

Filing Pro-Se Actions
(Not recommended for most people) It's possible for a Pro-Se lawyer to file criminal charge against the police. I was about to file assault and battery charges against the two police officers that maced me. The clerk gave me the necessary form and said that all I had to do was look up the law in the court library. You can use the form that the police prosecutor filed against you as an example.

The only reason that I chickened out was that my son was also involved. My son also had A&B charges filed against himself for holding the second officer from attacking me from behind. The best way out for me was to pay the 'ransom' or 'extortion' money and forget what happened. However, I will never forget...

If you prefer to make money rather than get mere revenge, then you can find several books on how to file a pro-se civil suit at several of the large chain book stores. I have found the following small library to be essential to file small claims actions.

'Represent Yourself in Court' by Attorneys Paul Bergman & Sara J. Berman-Barrett.
'Black's Law Dictionary'
'Massachusetts Rules of Court' by West Publishing Company.

Black's Law Dictionary is a useful general purpose book that will give you hints as to the proper law to quote. Some of the more important precedents are also quoted.

The clerk of the court will answer brief questions of procedure. Be nice however. Don't waste his time asking for laws -- he cannot act as your lawyer.

If you're good enough to get a trial date, then it becomes much easier to get a lawyer to represent you in Court. After you've filed once, filing again is almost as quick as finding a lawyer. Happy hunting!