PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks
May 29, 2012
By Elizabeth Fiedler
Today Monsignor William Lynn took the stand in his own defense – for the third day. Lynn, a former high-ranking official in the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese, is facing charges for failing to prevent other priests from sexually abusing children. For defendants in criminal cases the impulse to take the stand in their own defense, can be strong. But while they can help themselves on the stand, but they also can do damage.
It’s a common scene in TV courtroom dramas: the defendant defiantly takes the stand to refute the prosecutor’s accusations. Instead the character ends up in a teary mess confessing to the crime or exposing a secret that ID’s the real criminal.
Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer Dennis Cogan represented former State Senator Vince Fumo who was convicted of corruption. Cogan said there’s always a risk in putting a client on the stand.
“You don’t want him to perform, you don’t want the client on the witness stand to be making the arguments that the lawyer should be making later on,” said Cogan. “You have to go over the methods and manner of presentation.”
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