I experienced a joy this past week which is hard to relate to if you have never experienced it. A jury came back with a verdict of "not guilty" on a case I was trying.
Most cases I try involve individuals against whom the evidence is so overwhelming that there is really no chance of acquittal. Realistically I hear the words "not guilty" from a jury maybe two or three times a year on average.
In this case, the defendant was charged with robbery using a gun. If convicted he faced at least twelve years in prison. The evidence consisted of a video in which the perps face couldn't be seen, an identification by the victim about a month later, and the opinion of a probation officer that the person in the video looked like my client.
