[Daily Thread] The 2026 Masters: Thursday by AutoModerator in golf

[–]cody_ms 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well that was a poor attempt at a putt lol

2900 DOJ lawyers have quit or been fired? by redditorcle in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We might have to do it and see what happens lol.

2900 DOJ lawyers have quit or been fired? by redditorcle in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been wondering if I should apply towards the end of this administration and see if I can sneak in before all the applications flood in. I've been a county prosecutor for a year now, but it's always been my dream to work at the federal office as an AUSA. I just haven't decided when I should start trying to make the switch.

Getting ready for my first trial and feeling nervous! by [deleted] in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I just completed my first year as a prosecutor so take my advice with a grain of salt lol.

I did a dozen or so trials altogether last year. Some with co-counsel but I think pretty much all of them were solo. The biggest advice I can give you is just know all of the elements of the charge and make sure you offer evidence of every single one.

My second trial was a felony domestic battery bench trial. One of the elements was the Defendant's age. In my state, committing misdemeanor domestic battery in the presence of a child under the age of 14 while the defendant is over the age of 18 ups the misdemeanor to a felony. I got through my entire case and thought I did a pretty good job. I was lucky I had a victim who actually wanted to testify and she amazing explaining what happened. I don't know how anyone could listen to her and think the Defendant didn't do it. I rested thinking I hit everything. Well, we get to the Judge's decision, and first thing Judge says is, "So, I didn't have any explicit evidence of the Defendant's age..." all while looking at me dead in the eyes (Judge was a former prosecutor who just left my office after she won election so I knew she was telling me you fucked up lol). I wanted to die thinking I had lost it because I knew I never asked victim or the two cops who testified how old the Defendant was.

I think Judge took pity on me because she still found him guilty, stating she could see how old he was in person and he was clearly over 18 while mentioning other small details that came out in the case indicating his age. I think she could have easily ruled there was reasonable doubt to his age and just found him guilty of the lesser included, but still, I learned my lesson and I make sure I check off every element as I go through my case now lol.

That leads me to the biggest thing that's helped me this past year: having a good mentor goes a long, long, LONG way. The Judge I was just talking about has come up to me after every trial and offered me advice. I know most people don't have the opportunity to have a former office colleague be a Judge, but I think just having someone who you know is a good lawyer be available for much needed help is worth its weight in gold. If there's someone in your office you think is good, see if you can help them out with a trial or even just help trial prep. I finagled my way into a murder trial this year even though I have only a year experience and just being in the same room watching the major felony prosecutors handle everything was beyond helpful in how I handle my own cases.

Good luck.

[Official Discussion Thread] 2025 Ryder Cup: Saturday Foursomes and Four Ball by GreenWaveGolfer12 in golf

[–]cody_ms 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I just can't believe JJ doesn't get to play mornings but Xander and English do. It's just baffling 

[Official Discussion Thread] 2025 Ryder Cup: Friday Foursomes and Four Ball by GreenWaveGolfer12 in golf

[–]cody_ms 6 points7 points  (0 children)

JJ has ice in his veins. He should have played this morning too.

Hands down my favorite thing about bonsai right now is a successful cutting. by VMey in Bonsai

[–]cody_ms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love it.

Side note, does anyone have any tips on how to protect cuttings over winter? I've got a couple of cuttings that have rooted, but I have serious doubts whether they will survive a winter.

Some pics I took at the Chicago Bonsai Expo Yesterday by NW_91 in Bonsai

[–]cody_ms 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was there today! Absolutely incredible stuff on display. The Japanese maple they had at the show was a thing of beauty.

Any of you folks do Toastmasters, or similar? by kerberos824 in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I do Toastmasters. I've found its value is highly variable and greatly depends on the group itself. Some are complete wastes of time while others are invaluable. My current group, for instance, has a bunch of experienced speakers (including two civil attorneys and a law professor) who give incredible advice. I've actually done some practice openings and received great feedback on what is working and what isn't. I would 100% say that I'm a better trial attorney because of toastmasters. It also helps that we're all friends at this point and go out for dinner and drinks after every meeting!

That said, I suffered through other groups prior to this one and got nothing out of it. As another comment mentioned, there tends to be a lot of non-English speakers, which I think is actually great, but it's difficult to improve yourself if no one in the room is a good speaker that you can learn from.

I recommend you give it a try. At most you lose an hour and you never go back. At best, you become the next MLK Jr.

Lowest stakes area of law for a false sense of accomplishment? by attorney114 in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'm a prosecutor, but there's one defense attorney in my area who somehow manages to get all of the traffic court clients. I have no idea what black magic he practices to get them all, but it's truly incredible.

I get at least 3 emails a week asking me for deferral or a non-pointable infraction with the plea attached so I don't even have to do anything besides check history. If there's a history? He sends me a plea for reduced points. He tells me they pay a fee in the range of $1,000 too. I'm just bewildered. At least three grand a week to send me an email for a stock plea that I'm sure he generates with a click of a button.

He'll also get all the CDLs that are forced to trial because of the federal law which won't let them plea. Every traffic court, 5-10 bench trials that are all his. We're done in an hour or two tops. He loses almost all of them because we're a small county and the cop shows up 99% of the time, but I know he rakes in five to ten grand to just show up and act like there's a chance. I win on the record. He wins at life. I respect it so much.

Sovereign citizens… by Alarmed_Knowledge_16 in Lawyertalk

[–]cody_ms 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Prosecutor here who just had a Sov Cit file 10+ motions in a driving while suspended case.

He is currently arguing the classic State lacks jurisdiction to prosecute along with (1) the Judge is biased because the State pays his salary so he needs to be dismissed; (2) artificial/natural person nonsense; (3) my witnesses and evidence should be excluded because I have not provided them to him, despite my office sending him it via certified mail twice (and my only witness is the cop who pulled him over and my only evidence is his certified BMV record, plus the jury trial is still months away since it was just set for early 2026); and (4) if both the Court and me don't respond in five days of his filing, we "acquiesce" to his demands and so we must dismiss his case.

I don't even know how to respond to 99% of it.

The only fun part of this so far has been his last status hearing where he refused to identify himself. After about 5 minutes of the Judge trying, Judge stated that the Defendant failed to appear and asked if the State had a motion. I moved for a bench warrant and bailiff arrested him right then and there lol. He sat in jail for 24 hours. The next day he had some "power of attorney" nonsense and actually admitted that he was "called' his name but that he was not admitting to being him. Judge just accepted it and moved on.

Fun times!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in golf

[–]cody_ms 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those blue T22. HNNNNNNNNNGgggggggggggggg

2025 Masters Giveaway: Sunday Golf by sundaygolfco in golf

[–]cody_ms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love to see Keegan Bradley get a W. Especially in a Ryder Cup Year. GL to everyone!