Ask any defense lawyer whether the criminal trial process inherently favors prosecutors, and brace for an earful. Prosecutors get to open first and close last. (Remember the lessons from Psychology 101 about primacy and recency: Whatever an audience hears first and last tends to resonate most.) Judges — far more of whom are former prosecutors than defense counsel — often show respect and even deference to prosecutors but sometimes treat defense lawyers as pesky interlopers of dubious candor and motive. Prosecutors get to preen about how they represent “the people” or “the United States,” while defense lawyers often stand alone for the unsympathetic accused. In many courtrooms, prosecutors occupy the table right next to the jury box, while the defense team sits on the opposite side of the courtroom. As one frustrated defense lawyer memorably said to me, “You guys are so spoiled — you have every fucking edge. You’d have to be a moron to lose a case.” I heard variations of this (eminently fair) complaint countless times.

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