Trial Lawyer Finds Inspiration in Movie "Animal House"

Posted by Dan Slater

We hear lots of highfalutin theories about trial strategy and how to manage jury psychology, but a courtroom approach based on a fictional fraternity speech is new to us. And that, of course, is why we read the New York Post's Page Six everyday - for enlightenment on complicated legal issues.

According to the gossip column, defense lawyer Mickey Sherman's forthcoming memoir, "How Can You Defend Those People?" explains that, like the boys of Delta House in the 1978 classic comedy, "Animal House," Sherman tries to sidestep the issue of guilt by blaming the system. Just like the frat boys do in the 1978 comedy.

In the memoir, Sherman, the lawyer for Michael Skakel, who was convicted in 2002 for the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, reportedly writes: "After a long list of infractions are rattled off, Otter stands up and declares that any criticism of his fraternity is the same as . . . indicting the entire American education system, and 'say what you will about the Delta House, but we won't stand for anyone trying to put down the United States of America.' I guess it speaks volumes about my oratory skills, or lack thereof, that I rely on the movie ‘Animal House' to advocate for my causes."

Recollections about lawyers, guns and money make for anecdotal book

By TONY RIZZO

The Kansas City Star

I'd really like to meet the rival who beat out Mickey Sherman for high school class clown, because Sherman is a really funny guy.

He's also the scum of the earth to those who despise criminal defense lawyers as protectors of the antisocial rabble who threaten us all.

But in How Can You Defend Those People? Sherman explains, in an often humorous way, what motivates those like him who defend the presumably guilty.

Many times "those people" aren't always who we think they are. He has seen people who considered him a disgusting parasite one day show up at his office door the next, checkbook in hand.

"This metamorphosis generally occurs precisely 10 minutes after their son or daughter gets arrested," Sherman relates.

He covers his own metamorphosis from the "slums" of Greenwich, Conn., and a "solid C" academic career to life as a "C list celebrity."

But mostly the reader gets an anecdote-filled primer on our criminal justice system and the way it is covered by the media from one of the country's most recognizable lawyers, thanks to his being the go-to legal expert for an alphabet soup of cable and network television programs.

Sherman's legal career began as a public defender. It's a profession he believes is unfairly maligned.

"Even my mother rarely took my calls," he writes of those days.

He was also a prosecutor for four years and mildly successful TV game show contestant (winning $17,000 and all kinds of prizes) before becoming a "real lawyer."

"You can't buy a house in Fairfield County, Conn., for $17,000 and all kinds of stuff," he points out.

Having spent some time with him a few years ago when he was involved in a cold-case homicide in Olathe, I would observe that the personality he displays on television is the same in a courthouse lobby, over dinner and drinks or in a book.

But behind the façade of disarming humor, Sherman stands out as someone who takes what he does very seriously. Like any good lawyer, he knows that the decisions he makes have an impact on the lives of real people — even if they are people who bring trouble on themselves.

"People do stupid or bad things," Sherman writes. "People like me are there to clean up the mess, or at least, to do our best to minimize how their conduct will impact the rest of their lives."

A defense attorney has an absolute duty to do everything within ethical bounds to help his client, but sometimes those bounds are not always well-defined.

Sherman relates one dilemma when a client confessed to him that he had stashed a gun in the back seat of a police car. The officer who had arrested the man for burglary had missed the gun when he searched Sherman's client. The gun, fully loaded, had been taken in another burglary police knew nothing about.

Risking an ethical complaint but afraid that an unsuspecting police officer could be at risk, Sherman told an officer he trusted about the gun. The officer promised that his client would not face additional charges.

"He thanked me, and I went back home, wondering what it was going to be like applying for a job in advertising after my disbarment," Sherman says.

But when his client went to court, nothing was mentioned about the gun.

Sherman points out how much respect he has for the judges, defense lawyers, police officers and prosecutors who strive to do the right thing, no matter which side of the system they toil on.

And despite the serious nature of what they do, Sherman proves you can still have fun doing it.

Appearing with a client before a tough judge, he asked for a continuance to research an issue. The judge asked what it was.

"Your vacation schedule, your honor," Sherman said.

The request was granted.

How Can You Defend Those People?

ABC News Law & Justice Unit

In exclusive excerpts of his upcoming book "How Can You Defend These People?" Connecticut criminal defense attorney Mickey Sherman tackles the questions so many Americans have for defense attorneys who handle high-profile cases:

Aren't You Afraid To Deal With 'Those People?'

Are There Cases Or Clients You Won't Take?

In these excerpts, Sherman takes a sometimes light-hearted, ultimately revealing look behind the scenes of a criminal case before it gets into the headlines.

For the last question, Sherman contacted some of the nation's top defense attorneys, including Gerald Shargel, Ben Brafman, David Chesnoff and Dick DeGuerin, to ask them. Their answers may surprise you.

Sherman has years of experience in the media spotlight, and has led the defense of some of the most notorious criminal cases in recent memory, not always successfully.
His former clients include infamous Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who was convicted of the 1975 murder of Greenwich, CT teen Martha Moxley; so-called "Preppy rapist" Alex Kelly, who was charged with committing two rapes in Connecticut in 1986. Kelly fled the country in 1987. He later surrendered to authorities in Switzerland in 1995. He was extradited to the U.S. and served 10 years in prison for one of the rapes. He was paroled last fall. Sherman used the post-traumatic stress disorder defense in his successful defense of a Vietnam veteran who was charged with murder. The case became the subject of BBC series, "America on Trial."

Through decades of practicing laws, Sherman has been on both sides of challenging cases. A former Greenwich, Connecticut assistant district attorney and former assistant public defender in Stamford, Sherman was a founding member of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.

"A great book by a great attorney and even better human being. He tells it like it is but doesn't forget to make you laugh. You've got to read this book!"

"This book should be mandatory reading for criminal defense attorneys. It gets your head, your heart, and your ego in the right place. A light, quick and engaging read, it will crack you up again and again at the same time as imparting much insight. And then there's the chapter on the Roger Ligon case, the prep and trial of which is a model of unstinting hard work, commitment and brilliance by attorney Sherman. And it's cheap, you should buy a bunch of copies so you can hand them out the next time someone asks, "How can you defend those people?!"