Douglas County criminal defense attorneys important to process

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Lawrence defense attorney Sarah Swain has worked to brand herself as a strong presence for her clients. Swain is pictured on Friday, Dec. 12, 2014 outside the Lawrence Douglas County Law Enforcement Center.

Sarah Swain does not get along well with others.

That is, at least according to her second-grade report card. But the Lawrence criminal defense attorney said that hasn’t really changed.

“In order to change the world, you have to be OK with being an unagreeable person,” Swain said. “If you just agree with everything that’s going on, you are never going to make a difference.”

Swain, 38, said she’s adopted a “Wonder Woman” persona to fight for her clients. In a sea of black and navy suits, Swain’s sharp skirts and bright dresses stand out at the Douglas County Courthouse. Her stiletto heels can be heard click-clacking on courtroom floors from across the hall.

She calls it her “battle gear,” and she said she’s fighting daily.

As a criminal defense attorney, Swain is one of many in Lawrence whose jobs help ensure the justice system works, said Jean Phillips, Kansas University law professor and director of KU’s Project of Innocence and Conviction Remedies.

Phillips, who Swain worked for in law school as a student intern, said defense attorneys make sure that the fact-finders have all of the information available.

“If you really believe that juries are the ultimate finders of guilt, they can’t make that decision without all of the facts,” Phillips said. “There are times when the state just doesn’t have all the facts and you have to find more information. The only person who is going to do that is the defense attorney.”

Lawrence defense attorney John Frydman said that without a lawyer on the defendant’s side finding those additional facts, the accused could become victims themselves.

“The state has the power to take our life, money and property,” Frydman said. “Without someone to look out for the citizen, the state would run rampant.”

Phillips agreed that defense attorneys are crucial because of the great consequences that come with convictions.

“I can’t imagine anything worse than going to jail for something I didn’t do,” Phillips said. “If your client is convicted, they don’t come out the same way.”

In some of Lawrence’s most highly publicized cases, Swain has defended suspects accused of crimes ranging from domestic battery to child rape. While some may question her — “How could you do such a thing?” — she says she’s just doing her job.

“I don’t ever want to help the government put people in prison,” Swain said. “My job is not to make moral judgments or determine guilt or innocence.”

Phillips said she teaches her criminal defense students to think with open minds.

“Everybody is a human. We’ve all made mistakes and wouldn’t want to be judged by the worst thing we’ve ever done,” Phillips said.

Swain said she feels a strong sense of responsibility to fulfill her duties in her clients’ defense, especially when representing clients accused of murder or other serious crimes.

“The stakes don’t get any higher,” Swain said.

“When you get a case, you read the reports and 90 percent of the time you think, ‘Wow, this looks really bad for my client,'” Swain said. “But anything can be written or said through a lens of one point of view. It’s my job to start asking questions.”

Phillips said it is the defense attorney’s duty to make sure what officials have collected is accurate.

“Prosecutors and law enforcement make their decision, and it isn’t always right. The role of the defense attorney is to test that,” Philips said.

For example, Swain’s questions poked holes in the Douglas County case of a man accused of raping a woman in a Kansas University residence hall in March 2009.

Swain argued that the evidence indicated a consensual encounter, and her client was acquitted.

But the outcome isn’t usually a win for the defense. About two out of every three felony defendants are convicted in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Swain said the hardest case she’s handled in her 13-year career was that of Justin Gonzalez, 23, of Mission, who was convicted in June of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Nicholas Sardina at a house party in Lawrence.

Douglas County District Court Judge Peggy Kittel denied Swain’s request for probation and sentenced Gonzalez to 32 months in prison. Swain said she was deeply invested in the case.

“Justin is in prison now and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him,” Swain said. “I know that he should not be in prison.”

The jury’s verdict in the Gonzalez case brought Swain to a crossroads in her career, she said. Instead of remaining knocked down, she dusted herself off and went back to work.

“What matters is you’re always striving to make the world a better place,” Swain said. “I rediscovered that I was in the right profession and I must keep going to battle.”

Phillips said a loss can take some lawyers out of the game, but that strong investment in a case is a sign of a good attorney.

“It’s really, really hard when you’re emotionally invested in a client. Some people burn out,” Phillips said. “But those people who worry about their clients and cases are the ones who do a good job.”