Sometimes we can do so much damage to the case against the accused before trial even starts that the other side gives up. Sometimes, in other words, we can win without trial—win as complete a victory without trial as we could win through trial. We’ve done that in many of our cases.
Sometimes, though, we are asked to represent persons who have, indeed, committed child abuse or some other special assault, who are ashamed of that, and who do not want a trial. We respect those persons and gladly help them pursue healing for themselves and for any person they have hurt.
Some states, including Washington, provide a treatment alternative to long imprisonment for persons who confess they have sexually abused a child and seek treatment. (In Washington, the treatment alternative is called the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, abbreviated in the acronym “SSOSA.”) These confessions must be sincere! Persons in treatment must bare their souls, time and again; an innocent person would not likely be able to fake his way through the treatment alternative. The treatment alternative is an excellent option for someone who has molested a child, but it is not an option for someone who is innocent.
As public agitation about child abuse has grown in recent years, legislatures and courts have become stingy about granting treatment alternative sentences. Here, too, the accused needs a lawyer who will fight for him with both vigor and skill. We have a long history of doing that.
