Dealing with difficult technical information
Dealing with difficult technical information
In the course of the office interview, the attorney should obtain as detailed an understanding as possible of the defendant's view of the facts surrounding the case. If the case involves a technically sophisticated use of computing, the defendant's description may well involve terminology and concepts that the attorney does not understand. Rather than pretend an expertise he or she lacks, the attorney should be open with the client in admitting all difficulties in comprehension. This admission should be done in the spirit of cooperation, with the attorney stressing that he or she has the ability to hire experts to further deepen and enrich the attorney's understanding of the technical aspects of the case. Where the attorney has prosecuted or defended other cases involving technical matters, or done background readings that give him or her a general understanding of the area, these facts can be shared with the client. It is important for the client to feel that he or she can communicate openly with the attorney and be understood, because one problem that computer people have sometimes expressed is the feeling that they are not understood outside their profession.FN78
It will probably be useful to the attorney to stress from the beginning that criminal defense is a cooperative effort and that part of the cooperation needed from the client is the patience and recognition that people outside of their specialty are not likely to understand the finer points of their description of various facts. It is also helpful to add that sometimes the attorney will ask questions not because he or she lacks the necessary information to understand the client, but rather because from their experience they know that juries and judges are unlikely to understand certain concepts unless they are explained at some point during the trial. Therefore, the attorney may suggest that the client practice communicating to the trier of fact as he or she explains to the attorney what various terms and concepts are all about.