Ha'aretz recently ran an interesting article that
sheds light on what takes place behind the scenes in the
Israeli justice system. Young attorneys come streaming to
workshops organized by the Israeli Bar Association, where one
can hear senior attorneys who go beyond predictable, boring,
diplomatic speeches and share professional secrets with their
young colleagues, exercising almost no self- censorship.
"Every successful attorney keeps a long list of tricks and
tactics up his sleeve that he has gathered over the years.
They have become the foundations of his success and in many
instances they will determine the fate of a case. But not all
of these secrets are especially edifying and undoubtedly
differ somewhat from what young lawyers learn in university.
But it seems there's no arguing with success . . . "
Attorney Yoram Yarkoni opened a recent conference by saying
that despite common perceptions most judges do not read the
whole statement of claims that the attorneys labor over. "The
starting assumption is that except for a few unusual [judges]
— who often leave the bench at a young age anyway - -
none of the judges reads everything." Therefore, he says, the
complaint should be short, well drafted and interesting,
otherwise even the judge's intern won't bother to read it.
Here Yarkoni reveals another professional secret. One should
get to know the judge to find out what style he prefers.
For instance some judges love gossip, and adding a bit of
gossip in the statement of claims could pique the interest of
the judge hearing the case. He mentioned the name of a
retired judge, saying, "We wrote all the latest gossip, which
enticed her into reading the entire claim."
The whole truth is not always stated — to say the
least. Concealing arguments is the subtlest example of this.
To confound the other side it is important not to pass on too
much information. "Do not put anything you don't have to in
your initial statement of claim. Although the High Court
determined that one must `put all his cards out on the
table,' sometimes one card may be slightly concealed by
another."
While testimony is being given, says Yarkoni, lawyers should
take pains to insure that their client takes the witness
stand last. "He will hear all the testimony that has already
been given and if you've prepared him correctly he will fix
all sorts of mistakes they've made."
Yarkoni illustrates this with a joke. "Know the one about the
guy who calls up his lawyer to notify him that he caused a
car accident? `Wait for me there. I'm coming with the
witnesses.'" The audience bursts out in laughter and Yarkoni
says, "That's the way things are. We're not here to do
justice!"
Later in the workshop, Attorney Sassi Gez, considered one of
the top attorneys in criminal law, took the podium. One of
the participants asked him how defense attorneys walk the
thin line between legitimate representation and obstruction
of justice, since attorneys are prohibited from abetting
false testimony. Thus if the defense attorney knows his
client really did perpetrate the crime attributed to him, he
must drop the case if the defendant plans to present a
different, deceitful version of events from the witness
stand.
"We are a nation of obstructors of justice," Gez replied, but
then immediately qualified his remark by saying, "I mean in
quotation marks — don't take this out of context.
Nobody is worth my obstructing justice illegally. There is
legal and there is illegal [obstruction].
"I never ask the client, `Did you do it or did you not do
it?' I don't want to obstruct justice and if you go by the
book then if he tells you he did it you have to tell him,
`Find yourself another lawyer.' But then you'll remain a
civil attorney your whole life," says Gez with a smile.
"I make sure he does not tell me whether he stabbed or didn't
stab, for instance. I tell him, `Don't tell me the truth, I
don't want to know. Tell me what you told the police.' If
it's at a detention center it's much easier. I scare him with
wiretaps so he's careful not to talk. If he still [admits
perpetrating the crime] I say, `What? I didn't hear you.' He
simply sits far away and we understand one another," says
Gez, and the audience bursts out laughing.
"It doesn't happen to me that they tell me," concludes
Gez.
"And if it does happen?" persists a listener. "It happened to
me in my first case."
"Based on your question it seems to me that was your last
case, too," Gez replies, concluding his lecture.
