Art of Persuasion

Art of Persuasion

eBeltway sniperi lawyer Peter D. Greenspun discussed his defense of a killer at a seminar for Tampa Bay area lawyers.

By David R. Corder

Associate Editor

A little more than two years ago, Peter D. Greenspun lived through a terrifying time. Sniper fire killed 10 and injured three over the course of just a few weeks in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. The Fairfax, Va., lawyer, his family and millions of iBeltwayi area residents lived in mortal fear.

The arrest of two suspects in the shootings just a few weeks later brought only a momentary respite for the criminal defense attorney. Virginiais 31st Circuit Court named him co-counsel to represent John Allen Muhammad on charges he conspired with Lee Boyd Malvo in the globally publicized iBeltway sniperi shootings.

About 120 Tampa Bay area trial lawyers, state and federal prosecutors and judges heard Greenspun recall that experience during a Nov. 12 seminar sponsored by the Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association at the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa. The seminar o titled iArt of Persuasioni o also featured speakers U.S. District Judge Virginia Covington, state Attorney General Charlie Crist and 13th Circuit Chief Judge Manuel Menendez Jr.

Greenspun left no doubt with the audience about his assessment of the two capital murder trials that earned his client two death sentences. iYou canit talk about justice and talk about this case O in the same breath,i he says.

He cited several reasons. And itis not just because the state prosecutors convicted Muhammad with no physical evidence.

The shootings occurred at a time when now-retiring U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft executed a zero-tolerance anti-terrorism campaign, Greenspun says. The proximity of the shootings to Washington, D.C., and their terroristic characteristics heightened Ashcroftis interest.

On word of Muhammad and Malvois arrests, Greenspun says, Ashcroft embarked on a legal strategy to ensure their execution prior to a finding of guilt or innocence.

iThe attorney general of the United States, personally, I think is evil,i he says. iIim sorry; I wear that right on my sleeve. The attorney general of the United States looked for a place where Muhammad and Malvo could be sent to be killed.i

To ensure their convictions, Greenspun says Ashcroft persuaded state and local prosecutors in Alabama and Mississippi to cede jurisdiction to authorities in Virginia.

Ashcroft had a good reason, Greenspun says. Itis not because Alabama and Mississippi prosecutors lacked evidence against the two men on robbery-murder charges. In fact, he says those states possessed compelling evidence against them. Instead, Ashcroft encouraged Virginia officials to take jurisdiction because it offered the best opportunity for convictions.

iVirginia is a limited discovery state,i he says. iIt is a pro-death state.i

Unlike Florida, rules of criminal discovery in Virginia require criminal defense attorneys to petition the prosecutors for specific pre-trial evidence. For example, he recalls how prosecutors successfully introduced testimony from a surprise expert witness, a trained military sniper, without any notice to Muhammadis defense team.

iAfter his testimony, the prosecutors were walking outside (giving each other high fives), because we never found out about this witness,i he recalls.

Thatis why Greenspun fears the art of persuasion today, perhaps, all too often rests on political influences rather than constitutional checks and balances.

iWe all want to be persuasive, we do,i he says. iThe question is: Is it a search for truth, search for justice or search for the win? I suggest in many cases, itis the latter.i