Handling conflict in the courtroom

Seattle plaintiffs' attorney Paul Luvera offers sage advice for handling conflict in the courtroom. If it feels as though opposing counsel is always at your throat, do as Gerry Spence does. Wait until the rant is over. Pause. Address the court with a smile on your face. Maintain your calm demeanor -- no matter how hot you are under the collar.

As Mr. Spence would suggest, contrast your mood and demeanor with that of opposing counsel. Don't allow yourself to get drawn down into the gutter.

Mr. Luvera ends with a quote from Seneca: "He is most powerful who has himself in power."

The grunt work makes it possible

Tomorrow night the University of Texas will seek revenge on Texas Tech for a last-second loss in Lubbock last season that cost the 'Horns a shot at the national title. I expect both teams to be slinging the ball up and down the field and I hope the scoreboard operator at Memorial Stadium bought some extra bulbs.

Last Saturday the University of Houston picked up their biggest win in 25 years

when they marched into Stillwater and knocked off Oklahoma State. I think the footballs in that game were racking up frequent flyer points.

Thirty years ago the Longhorns and the Cougars lived on the ground. The 'Horns ran the wishbone and the Coogs did their damage with Bill Yeoman's Veer. Now they both run variations of the Spread Option and live and die through the air.

But even though the offensive philosophies and schemes are different now, both the ground attacks of the 60's and 70's and the air assaults of today depend on the same thing -- a solid offensive line. It doesn't matter how you intend to move the ball around, if your line can't block and protect the quarterback, you're not going anywhere.

An analogy can be made to the practice of criminal law. It doesn't matter how glib or flashy an attorney is at trial if he isn't prepared. Regardless of one's style in the courtroom, if you don't know your case inside and out, backwards and forwards, you're in trouble. All the technology and glitz in the world won't matter if you haven't put in the prep time.

A League City war story

Tried an assault case down in League City this afternoon (perhaps y'all remember my last experience down there). Three people testified - the alleged victim, my client and my client's mother. All three stories were different. The only thing they all agreed on was that my client and the alleged victim had an argument.

The end result was a (somewhat) typical she said-she said swearing match. The judge found my client not guilty but then proceeded to berate her, saying she thought my client did assault the alleged victim but that because she had one little doubt, she couldn't find her guilty.

While I think the judge's final decision was the correct one, I do take offense at her comments to my client afterward. The comments weren't necessary, in fact, they were mean-spirited and the judge seemed to be aggravated that anyone would dare demand their day in court.