LegalEagle's Devin Stone Answers Law Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Thanks for having me, WIRED! (And yes, people, now I know that "petit" is French, not Latin. You are technically correct...the best kind of correct)

I was on a petit jury once and had to remind my fellow jurors that the defendant choosing not to testify didn't make them "seem guilty." Spending time on a jury and seeing just how dumb people deciding your fate can be was the single biggest deterrent to committing crime than anything else I've ever encountered.

as someone with anxiety, I have no doubt I'd look like the guiltiest person to ever walk into any courtroom.

So many people seem to always forget that defending somebody doesn't always mean proving their innocence but rather making sure that their human rights aren't violated. Regardless on if we think somebody "deserves" those rights, it's part of the law and needs to be upheld.

One of the best answers I’ve seen to “how/why would you defend a client who is clearly guilty” is to make sure the police and prosecutors follow the rules. Even if a given person is guilty, defense attorneys are there to make sure the process was followed, no corners were cut, no rules were broken, no funny business occurred. It may not make a difference for the clearly guilty client, but it’s not just about them. It’s also about the next defendant and the one after that and the one after that. The police and prosecutors must also obey the law, and someone has to put them to the test to make sure they stay honest and don’t get sloppy.

I was in Pre-law and you cannot imagine my shock when I see this dude walk in as a guest speaker. Great guy IRL and that was a lecture I was on every word.

Thank you for that one about the fifth. I’m so sick of people saying, “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.”

The way the 5th amendment was explained to me in school was this. It's to avoid implicating yourself in questions that have no right answer. For example, you are in no way an arsonist, but get asked this question "Did you stop lighting fires?" If you say no, because you never started, then it sound like you're still lighting fires. If you say yes, because you aren't lighting fires, then it sounds like you used to. The idea being that you could use the 5th amendment to avoid answering a question like this that is pretty much a trap.

Regarding a defense lawyer: The best explanation my law professor has given me is "Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even someone guilty. Especially someone guilty. The job of a defense lawyer is to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial."

Even when he's on a completely different channel Devin still wants to see you in court.

I gotta say I appreciate how fast you blaze through your questions and answers, rat-tat-tat, then on to the next, with no unnecessary nonsense. You covered a lotta ground in 14 minutes. Thank you.

about pleading the fifth: I remember seeing a law professor talk about how a client thought "Hey I'm innocent so I'm going to talk so I appear helpful" . He WAS innocent but what ended up happening is that because he talked about certain details they then tried to pin a different crime on him. So yeah don't talk unless you have a lawyer present

Even the most heinous criminals deserve a defense, otherwise we have no legal system.

I like how he explains the technical stuff so clearly and simply without coming off as condescending it makes it way easier to listen to what he has to say

As a lawyer, I found this examplary - very good presentation. Don’t let the breakneck speed of the presentation fool you into thinking any of this was spontaneous, these are all well thought through answers. Thank you very much for this presentation.

They literally tell you why you should plead the 5th when they arrest you: "Anything you say can be used against you in court." This doesn't change if you're innocent.

it's frustrating when people ask why you wouldnt testify if youre innocent. anything you say can and will be spun against you, testifying opens the door for you to be cornered and to sound guilty even if you arent.

I was on a petit jury for a murder case, and up until the defendant testified before sentencing, we were probably going to give her less time than we did. She was just awful at...everything. Lied even when caught doing so, didn't seem upset by what she'd done, etc. Her lawyer failed her on that. Pleading the 5th is important. Sometimes, it's best to keep your own mouth shut.

Pleading the 5th is the best thing you can do. Regardless of guilt. The police can use anything you say against you, but not to help you. So you simply misremember something you think won't matter and before you know it, you've convicted yourself.

EVERYONE deserves a fair trial. Because the moment you make an exception, you may have just started a chain of events leading to YOU being that exception!