A Few Good Men : "Downey needed a trial lawyer today."

"Downey needed a trial lawyer today."

I don't really understand what that means. What is a trial lawyer? And how would that have changed the situation? I get the point he was making, but I guess I'm just confused because I've never heard of a trial lawyer.

Thanks for any replies.

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Re: "Downey needed a trial lawyer today."

Great explanation, were you a lawyer sir?

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Re: "Downey needed a trial lawyer today."


Coffee explains to Jo at the beginning that he's never been inside a court room. His specialty was plea bargaining, so that cases assigned to him wouldnt go to trial.

The examination with Downey didnt go to plan "Putting Downey on the stand, and the phoney transfer really ought to be enough" - but when it all got derailed, Coffee reminded us trials were not his bag, and that the young fella really needed a trial lawyer

Good explanation, but it's "Kaffee" not "Coffee". 😃

"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you!"

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Re: "Downey needed a trial lawyer today."


Coffee explains to Jo at the beginning that he's never been inside a court room. His specialty was plea bargaining, so that cases assigned to him wouldnt go to trial.

The examination with Downey didnt go to plan "Putting Downey on the stand, and the phoney transfer really ought to be enough" - but when it all got derailed, Coffee reminded us trials were not his bag, and that the young fella really needed a trial lawyer


I might need to rewatch the film but I think it was Demi Moore who was being criticized, not Kaffee. She said I "strongly" object, and kept pushing it which was a tactical error. Remember, she was a great investigator but not a trial lawyer or a plea bargain type. She should have objected, to get it on the record, but then not pushed it. By pushing it she got the judge to say that the witness was an expert which hurt the defense. A trial lawyer would have known to object, but not to push it to the level where the judge says something to help the prosecution.

That is my recollection. I need to rewatch it, but I think Sam was criticizing Demi Moore and not Kaffee in that scene.

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Re: "Downey needed a trial lawyer today."

There's lawyers with EXPERIENCE of actually (frequently too) defending people in courtrooms - like there's lawyers that just deal with legal paperwork that have little (to none) court experience.
Simple as that.


Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past
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