The vast majority of prosecution work occurs outside of courtrooms and less than 10% of all criminal cases go to trial. Courtroom performance, then, is of little import if prosecutors have not carefully investigated and prepared cases for prosecution. Courtroom performance is at its best, on the other hand, when prosecutors have thoroughly supervised the investigation and prepared the case for trial. In the end, the raw material prosecutors have to work with in courtrooms--the evidence--is a product of all of the work prosecutors perform outside the courtroom.
For the Prosecution: How to Prosecute Criminal Cases seeks to provide prosecutors and those who wish to become prosecutors, including law students, guidance on how to prosecute criminal cases from investigation to appeal.
This book provides guidance on how to successfully investigate and prosecute criminal cases.
Thus, this book focuses on strategies and tactics involved in prosecution, and the soft skills for managing cases and people. This book examines how to think about criminal cases, guide investigations, and break down and organize complex cases in a persuasive manner. The book also examines ways to organize and prioritize caseloads, strategies for taking down criminal organizations, and tactics for turning criminals into cooperators. The book describes how to handle motions practice, prepare a case for trial, and successfully litigate sentencing hearings and appeals.
This is not just another trial advocacy book. It is all of the work prosecutors perform outside the courtroom that makes it possible for them to resolve more than 90% of their cases through guilty pleas, and to prevail on the relatively few cases that go to trial. This book focuses on all the laws, duties, strategies and tactics prosecutors execute investigating and prosecuting criminal cases for those who wish to become prosecutors or further their career. Throughout C.J. Williams explores the strategies and tactics involved in prosecuting criminal cases, as well as examines the skills a successful prosecutor needs to develop in order to work with all those involved in the criminal justice system. He even brings his own experiences and lessons learned about prosecuting criminal cases into For the Prosecution, giving the reader more than the typical trial advocacy book.
Industry Reviews
The shelves overflow with books about winning the contest in the courtroom with clever cross and eloquent argument. But here now is the volume that reveals the true secret of success in court, specifically in federal prosecutions, and with lessons for all litigators. Judge C.J. Williams describes the preparation of every part of a prosecution case, and always with the focus on providing what others need--whether they are victim-witnesses, investigative agents, jurors, or judges--in order to deliver what is necessary to achieve great results in the courtroom. At the international level, I always pushed for the hiring of more former US federal prosecutors because of their experience in running cases from the crime scenes to the courts of appeal. In For the Prosecution C.J Williams tells us how it is done, and done well.--Stephen J. Rapp, former US Attorney for N. Iowa (1993-2001)
