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Why I Became a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Posted by Andrew Segal | Jun 05, 2023 | 0 Comments

I've always hated bullies. As a child, my grandfather told me, “When you get hit, even when you're hurt, hit back. Hard. Don't give up. Don't surrender. Keep fighting.

I started my career as a prosecutor in the Atty. Gen.'s office than in the District Attorney's Office. As a prosecutor, I fought for justice, but I learned that just because someone is charged with a crime. it doesn't mean they're guilty. Despite what people think, a prosecutor's job is not to convict everyone who comes before them but to seek justice.

As a defense lawyer, I've seen that when you are accused of a crime, it means the government is using its full power and force against you. You're facing a serious battle that can determine your life's path.

When you're accused of a crime, you're the underdog. You certainly need somebody willing to fight for you, someone, who will give them all to counterbalance the enormous force the state has marshaled against you.

I represent good people who are accused of bad things. Some of my clients are wrongly accused, and some have made mistakes. For those who have made mistakes, we help them do what's necessary to repair their lives.

In Japan, there's an art form called Kintsugi. In Kintsugi, broken parts are mended with golden lacquer. The idea is that something that is broken doesn't need to be discarded. While it may not look the same as before, it can be made new and beautiful. and its scars, represented by the golden lacquer, are part of its history to be respected.

All of us are flawed. You don't get through life without scars. We get injured. Bruised. Scarred.

 But no one should be discarded, and that's true even though some in the criminal "Justice" system feel otherwise.

For those who come to us battered, we try to heal them, to make them whole, and to give back their lives.

Some come to us wrongly accused. Being accused of a crime is a horrible burden. Being accused of a crime that you didn't do is a nightmare.

So, while some seek mercy, Others seek justice. Some say justice means you get what you deserve, but mercy means that you are granted grace despite whatever you may deserve.

Your lawyer must fight for you whether you seek justice or mercy.

That's the greatest victory when we can resolve the case without conviction for our clients.

And when we resolve a case for a client without a conviction, we can often seek expungement for them.

When a case is expunged, it is treated as though nothing ever happened. It's like turning back the hands of time. When we win an expungement, our clients can move forward with their lives as though nothing ever happened.

My wife and I love our jobs because we love helping people.

There is enormous satisfaction in pursuing justice, loving mercy, and fighting for the underdog.

Call us if you'd like our help.

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About the Author

Andrew Segal

Andrew Segal is a former judge and prosecutor who now represents the accused as a criminal defense attorney in Huntsville, Alabama, area courts. Andrew graduated cum laude from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1982. and Washington College of Law at American University in 1988.

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