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NEW YORK, NEW YORK—COLUMBIA University
Columbia University, an Ivy League powerhouse with a corpulent endowment, and an exceptional law school had hired a dark-chocolate hued, pearly-white teethed, legal eagle, Naim Butler. Born in the Chicago, Illinois slums, he graduated summa cum laude and class valedictorian with a combined bachelors and masters from Tulane University. He graduated with honors from his law school class at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the editor of the law review and received the Benjamin Jones Award for Public Service. Though he earned a living as a professor of law at Columbia U, it was the Law Offices of Baker and Keefe that monopolized the lion’s share of his professional livelihood. For the past two years, he had been a partner of Manhattan’s second-largest firm, despite not being licensed to practice law. His specialty sentencing mitigation, an area that he dutifully contributed to the firm as an excellent investigator (sometimes sleuth), legal researcher and writer.
Last spring, though, he earned a Ph.D. at Yale University and finally had the sitting senior New York senator request—as quid pro quo—the sitting United States president, Jackson Radcliffe, to pardon him for committing fraud crimes as a young adult. The president obliged, Naim aced the bar exam and was set to rack up acquittals as a defense attorney—particularly in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
He owned dozens of suits and was in a sleek, pinstriped, blue number, sitting in the third row of a large Columbia lecture hall. He was amongst the students that he was set to teach the art of garnering lenient sentences. Sentencing Mitigation 305.
His mentor, Max Devers, the law school’s associate dean continued introducing Dr. Naim Butler. “You ladies and gents have the honor to be the first group taught by a man who rewrote the sentencing mitigation rules. His playbook is as deep as Bill Belichick’s, but Naim has a better record. Below guidelines sentences were granted one hundred percent of the times, Butler was on the case. That’s why I brought him aboard. Defense attorneys must be prepared to effectively highlight the upbringing, education level, and psychological background of their clients. Oftentimes we fail to adequately and uniquely mitigate for our clients—especially the poor ones—but Butler has the tools to help you all master this. Amazing, right?” Applause from eager students filled the room as Devers let that sink in. “At Baker and Keefe, Butler worked under me at the prestigious firm. A firm that some of you are headed; and, a word from Professor Butler would go a long way to achieve that.” Bright smiles spread across the student’s faces. Going from college to Baker and Keefe was like going from high school to the NBA. It was reserved for a select few. “Without further delay, Professor Naim Butler,” he said over a quiet applause.
Students looked at the huge stage expecting their lecturer to magically appear from behind the curtain. Tada. He didn’t. Naim stood from amongst their ranks and casually strolled to the stage. Whispers were followed by another applause.
“Thank you,” he said as they settled down. His baritone voice was clean and concise. “My first time teaching. Truly honored. Who would have bet on me accomplishing this? One person for sure, the attorney that argued to a federal judge to give me a chance to relocate from Chicago to New Orleans to attend Tulane...”
Boos boomed around the room at the mention of the rival university, causing him to chuckle.
“Tough crowd,” he said, smiling. “Know that I am tough, too. Very. Mediocrity and I are mortal enemies, and with that said, let’s get to it. You’ve all been e-mailed syllabus and sample client profiles crafted for you to come up with mitigating arguments to garner them lower sentences. Why, because ninety percent of your cases will result in guilty plea negotiations and require sound sentencing strategies; ergo, it is imperative to be creative and innovative during the sentencing phase. The best hostage negotiator wins. Yes, hostages, because with criminal sentences run amuck, defendants are akin to hostages used as political election talking points from criminal justice reform, but nothing significant has been done to move the ball on that front since 1994. And what significant criminal reform act occurred in 1994?”
Hands shot up in the air. Naim consulted his seating chart and picked one of the twenty-eight students. “Irene?”
She stood and said, ‘Then, First Lady, McClintock called African American criminals ‘super-predators’ that needed to be brought to their heels. And they were in the form of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, sharpening a federal sentencing scheme that forced judges to hand-down mandatory sentences for crimes that targeted criminal acts primarily committed in urban communities and essentially by Latinos and African-Americans.”
“I couldn’t have put that any more eloquent,” Naim said, smiling. “Thank you. Any questions before we continue? I’m going to have a few of your present your sentencing strategies from the podium. We’re going to ascertain how you grow over the course of the semester.”
A lone hand was raised. Naim consulted the seating chart, and said, “Jake?” He pointed at the gold-haired, green-eyed, Jake Franta like the President shooting on index fingers at a member of the White House press Corp in the Rose Garden during a press conference.
“Why’d you request we dress in courtroom attire?” Jake asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “And do we have to for every class this semester?”
“Great questions. I wanted you all to get a feel for getting up early and racing off to an early morning courtroom appearance. Dressed and ready to perform,” Naim said, pacing across the stage. “This is only today, for now. I will ask again twice more. Once with advance notice and once without to prepare you for an emergency in-chambers appearance. I will e-mail you between three and six a.m. the day I’d like you dressed for an emergency. And expect a surprise. Jake, I’d like you to come up and present your sentencing position for your client.” Jake stood and made his way to the stage, and then Naim said, “Class, I’d like you to take notes identifying the good and bad of his argument. Please do nitpick with regard to his delivery, word choice, and any other factor. Especially his ability to tell a story.”
And Naim was off. His first day working towards molding young men and women into fine attorneys had commenced. His efforts wouldn’t make the news, but undoubtedly, some prosecutor across America would loathe the criminal-defense-chimeras he set out to create.