During 27 years as a special agent for the FBI, I spent considerable time in court sitting along side assistant United States attorneys during trials in which I was the case agent.
A primary concern during a trial was the defense attorney for the defendant. A defense attorney, well qualified and highly paid, can confuse and twist otherwise compelling evidence upside down. Such a convincing defender can mean the difference of jury finding a guilty defendant innocent. Remember O.J. Simpson?
Those crooks who could afford a a particularly charismatic defense attorney kept me up at night. Although 100% confident a defendant was absolutely guilty, my constant fear was the jury could be swayed by the defender’s ability to fog the issue and shrewdly make evidence appear questionable enough for inexperienced and gullible jurors to accept the mantra of a failure to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.