Creative Contractors, Inc.

Why the Government loses all the big cases.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone when the Sami Al-Arian verdict came in. It seemed pretty evident that this was a bad person. The government had video tapes of him raising money for the Palestinian Jihad, a murderous organization by anyone’s standards. He stood on a stage at a Palestinian rally in the Midwest showing pictures and video of Palestinian murderers killing Israeli citizens (not soldiers), and said “With your money we can do more of this!” How much more indicting could evidence be? Yet the jury found him innocent of the charges. The FBI had wire-tapped his phone for years, and had thousands of pages of transcripts of conversations about activity that is clearly illegal in this country. Yet the prosecution failed to get a conviction.

So we were shocked and disappointed at the results of this long and arduous trial.

But should we have been surprised? Were we surprised when Michael Jackson walked from the courthouse a free man? The country was so sure that Michael Jackson was going to jail that comedians, even Chris Rock, were doing shtick about what it’s going to be like for Michael Jackson in jail. The evidence seemed overwhelming to us that Jackson was guilty. His own behavior reinforced that belief.

What about O.J. Simpson? Other than the twelve jurors, who do you know that doesn’t think O.J. murdered his wife? Was there ever a more certain conviction? But O. J. walked away.

Robert Blake? Walked away. And the list goes on.

The reason lies in the fact that the talent is not on the government side. The famous people who can afford the best defenses are better armed when it comes to courtroom artillery. The really bright lawyers aren’t working for the government. They are in private practice where the big money is. And they are good. Real good. And the government can’t compete. It’s simply not a level playing field.

Is there a solution? Maybe. I propose that when government prosecutors are faced with a high profile case with that kind of representation, that they outsource the prosecution to the private sector. The law community would love this because it creates a whole new legal industry. But it’s the only chance the government has to win these types of cases. Hire the same big talent guns that the defense is hiring, and maybe the playing field will be level.