Applying t’ai chi to trial lawyering.
UNDERDOG - Criminal/Drunk Driving Defense in Maryland, Virginia, DC:
INTRODUCTION
When I told t’ai chi Master Ben Lo that, time permitting in the morning, I sometimes circle the courthouse where I am scheduled and conclude with t’ai chi, he asked if some people think I am crazy. I told him of my temporary police detention last June, when I was a suspected t’ai chi terrorist. He suggested that I not practice t’ai chi in airports. Of course, practicing t’ai chi is anything but crazy. It is the Supreme Ultimate.
The editor of a state criminal defense lawyers association newsletter recently solicited articles. In the ongoing spirit of my applying t’ai chi to criminal defense and everything else I do, I submitted the following article that incorporates material from my previous blog entries with some additional ideas and realizations:
MAINTAINING CALM IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Consider being in trial against the most underhanded prosecutor you have ever battled against or, perhaps worse, a prosecutor with a reputation for fairness acting the complete opposite. Add to that a judge who merely wants to move the case along, even if that means only allowing the span of a lunch hour to review a mountain of Jencks material. Complete the picture with a bunch of lying witnesses fingering the wrong person, your client.
What is the most powerful way to approach such a state of injustice? Critical ingredients are calm, non-anger, and fearlessness. To go to battle in a state of mental and physical limpness will amount to a limp performance. To go to battle tense, stiff, or angry will give the opponent a huge area of the defense to push against and to topple, and will close off the channels of energy and strength. To be mindfully calm, on the other hand, gives the opponent nothing to push…