Hardy and Maxwell-Shelkey Prepare For Tribal Court Trial
By Seth Hardy
My semester at the Washburn Law Clinic afforded me a unique opportunity. In addition to the numerous court appearances, client meetings, and document preparation, I was assigned to try a criminal case at Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Court. This would have been only the second jury trial ever conducted at Prairie Band, and the prospect was daunting to say the least. My trial partner, Melanie Maxwell-Shelkey, and I were going to have to submit jury instructions, engage in jury selection, draft and argue motions in limine, examine witnesses — two of whom were police officers — and perform opening and closing statements. Suffice it to say, Perry Mason I am not.
Were I a budding associate, thrown into the deep end and commanded to swim through this process, I'd likely have struggled severely. However, the Clinic was the great equalizer. Professor Francis was there to lead us step by step in our preparation, reviewing our work and advising us of potential landmines. My favorite part of the process was having Professor Francis step in the shoes of a Prairie Band police officer and rehearse witness examinations. What was easily the scariest activity imaginable became exhilarating and fun, and I was suddenly looking forward to getting my witness on the stand.
Two days before the trial was scheduled to begin (and interestingly, the day after we inundated the prosecutor's office with our motions and jury instructions), the prosecutor made us an offer. This presented a new experience. Although it would spare our client from seeing the inside of a cell, we felt the facts of the case called for a better offer and after consulting with our client negotiated a reduced charge with the prosecutor. With that, our client decided to settle. While it was disappointing that Melanie and I wouldn't be conducting our very first jury trial, I know that the reason the prosecutor was willing to settle in the first place was because we did such a good job and were so well-prepared. For that, all the credit goes to the Washburn Law Clinic.
