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Case of a Lifetime: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's Story
by Abbe Smith

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3044590.Case_of_a_Lifetime_A_Criminal_Defense_Lawyer_s_Story?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Case of a Lifetime: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's Story" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wwHldPt%2BL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3044590.Case_of_a_Lifetime_A_Criminal_Defense_Lawyer_s_Story?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Case of a Lifetime: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's Story</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/347048.Abbe_Smith">Abbe Smith</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32723411?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars Abbe Smith is a criminal defense lawyer who believes in what she does, even though she never loses sight of the ethical complexities involved in defending what are mostly guilty persons. 
 
 Case of a Lifetime is the story of Smith's rare innocent clients. It recounts thestory of her decades long involvement in the case of Kelly Jarrett, who was convicted of murder based on a single eyewitness identification. That story is both sad and disturbing. Kelly was convicted as the accomplice of the actual killer, who was using her car at the time of the murder. The eyewitness originally told police he didn't see the face of the driver of the car, and wasn't even sure of the gender. As all too often happens, by the time trial rolled around, the witness was emphatic in his identification, which was basically the only evidence against Kelly. 
 
 In her early twenties at the time of her conviction, Kelly won a reversal of her conviction ten years later, based on the court's determination that the identification was flawed as a matter of law. Pending appeal, the state offered her a plea deal: plead guilty and she would receive a sentence of time served. In other words, simmply by admitting guilt, she would go free. She elected to refuse the deal because she was innocent, but on appeal, the lower court was reversed. Ultimately, all other appeals and a plea for clemency were unsuccessful, but she was finally granted parole when she first became eligible for it. But that was after serving over 28 years in prison. 
 
 Case of a Lifetime is not only Kelly's story. It is also the story of how her case affected Smith, or "the peculiar burden innocence places on the professional." Despite Smith's long and hard efforts, there was no story book ending. Rather, Smith was frustrated by her inability to achieve justice, and ended up wondering if Kelly might have been released when she was even if Smith had never done anything for her at all. In some ways, then, for Smith Kelly's story was a study in futility. 
 
 It is also a revealing look at our criminal justice system, in which truth and justice often take a back seat to process and efficiency. A glaring example of the truth of this is that the United States Supreme Court has found that actual innocence is not a ground for appeal. If the trial was fair, it doesn't matter if the jury reached the wrong result. This is disheartening, even if most juries do reach the right result. This is especially so when an innocent person has been convicted. 
 
 As Smith notes: "The assumption that the system works and that those who are caught up in it are guilty is pervasive. It is hard enough to fight that assumption prior to trial when the accused is supposed to be presumed innocent. Once there is a conviction, the system doubles back on itself, becoming impenetrable. The legal niceties have been applied. The jury has spoken. Only under extraordinary circumstances will a verdict be undone." 
 
 Smith writes that she had no idea "how utterly random justice could be." She says the system is far from perfect, being marred by lying witnesses and manufactured evidence, as well as well intentioned misconduct, i.e., going overboard to convict a defendant police and prosecutorssincerely believe to be guilty. In sum, most criminal defense lawyers agree that there is nothing more difficult than defending the innocent. This book shows why. 
 
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/825885?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Mazola1's review
rating:

Abbe Smith is a criminal defense lawyer who believes in what she does, even though she never loses sight of the ethical complexities involved in defending what are mostly guilty persons.

Case of a Lifetime is the story of Smith's rare innocent clients. It recounts thestory of her decades long involvement in the case of Kelly Jarrett, who was convicted of murder based on a single eyewitness identification. That story is both sad and disturbing. Kelly was convicted as the accomplice of the actual killer, who was using her car at the time of the murder. The eyewitness originally told police he didn't see the face of the driver of the car, and wasn't even sure of the gender. As all too often happens, by the time trial rolled around, the witness was emphatic in his identification, which was basically the only evidence against Kelly.

In her early twenties at the time of her conviction, Kelly won a reversal of her conviction ten years later, based on the court's determination that the...more Abbe Smith is a criminal defense lawyer who believes in what she does, even though she never loses sight of the ethical complexities involved in defending what are mostly guilty persons.

Case of a Lifetime is the story of Smith's rare innocent clients. It recounts thestory of her decades long involvement in the case of Kelly Jarrett, who was convicted of murder based on a single eyewitness identification. That story is both sad and disturbing. Kelly was convicted as the accomplice of the actual killer, who was using her car at the time of the murder. The eyewitness originally told police he didn't see the face of the driver of the car, and wasn't even sure of the gender. As all too often happens, by the time trial rolled around, the witness was emphatic in his identification, which was basically the only evidence against Kelly.

In her early twenties at the time of her conviction, Kelly won a reversal of her conviction ten years later, based on the court's determination that the identification was flawed as a matter of law. Pending appeal, the state offered her a plea deal: plead guilty and she would receive a sentence of time served. In other words, simmply by admitting guilt, she would go free. She elected to refuse the deal because she was innocent, but on appeal, the lower court was reversed. Ultimately, all other appeals and a plea for clemency were unsuccessful, but she was finally granted parole when she first became eligible for it. But that was after serving over 28 years in prison.

Case of a Lifetime is not only Kelly's story. It is also the story of how her case affected Smith, or "the peculiar burden innocence places on the professional." Despite Smith's long and hard efforts, there was no story book ending. Rather, Smith was frustrated by her inability to achieve justice, and ended up wondering if Kelly might have been released when she was even if Smith had never done anything for her at all. In some ways, then, for Smith Kelly's story was a study in futility.

It is also a revealing look at our criminal justice system, in which truth and justice often take a back seat to process and efficiency. A glaring example of the truth of this is that the United States Supreme Court has found that actual innocence is not a ground for appeal. If the trial was fair, it doesn't matter if the jury reached the wrong result. This is disheartening, even if most juries do reach the right result. This is especially so when an innocent person has been convicted.

As Smith notes: "The assumption that the system works and that those who are caught up in it are guilty is pervasive. It is hard enough to fight that assumption prior to trial when the accused is supposed to be presumed innocent. Once there is a conviction, the system doubles back on itself, becoming impenetrable. The legal niceties have been applied. The jury has spoken. Only under extraordinary circumstances will a verdict be undone."

Smith writes that she had no idea "how utterly random justice could be." She says the system is far from perfect, being marred by lying witnesses and manufactured evidence, as well as well intentioned misconduct, i.e., going overboard to convict a defendant police and prosecutorssincerely believe to be guilty. In sum, most criminal defense lawyers agree that there is nothing more difficult than defending the innocent. This book shows why.

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