Overview
Steptoe New York partner Mike Miller was quoted in an article in The American Lawyer titled “Will the Dewey Defendants Take the Stand?” The article, published August 24, discusses whether the three former executives of the defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf will take the stand in their own defense once the prosecution rests its case. The three are charged with grand larceny and fraud for perpetrating a scheme to deceive lenders and investors about the financial well-being of the firm prior to its historic collapse in 2013.
Mr. Miller, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, says defendants often do not testify because the evidentiary scale tips decisively toward the government. The jurors' focus shifts from whether the prosecutors have proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt to whether the defendant is truthful. If the defense stumbles, "the jury may overlook some gaps in the government's evidence and convict," Mr. Millers says. As a consequence, "there are occasions where a defendant on the stand grabs defeat out of the jaws of victory."
The full article can be read at The American Lawyer (subscription required).
