Journal article
The Bend at the End: What Lawyers Can Learn about Disruptions and Innovations in Criminal Defense Practice from Market Analysis
Mercer law review, Vol.69, p901
2018
Abstract
In the world of stock market analysis, there is one certainty: the stock market is unpredictable. It acts with a will of its own, and despite experts' attempts at market forecast, no single person or machine can accurately predict the highs and lows of each day. Nonetheless, market experts extol new techniques; develop computer algorithms; and attach interesting monikers, such as Stochastics, MACD, and Bollinger Bands. But, in the end, they all succumb to the same rule: the unpredictability of the market suggests that no trading strategy is 100%, without fail, perfect every single trade.
That said, however, there is one simple market rule to which, if pressed hard enough, every investor, no matter how sophisticated or novice, would agree. That rule is simply that you should always follow the general direction of all the other investors until it is no longer popular to follow. So common is this approach, affectionately known as "Trend Trading," that a popular mantra was developed: "The Trend is Your Friend . . . Until the Bend at the End." At its base level, this mantra makes great sense. If everyone else is investing in one direction, why would you be contrarian? To be contrarian, or go against the trend, is a riskier investing strategy, mostly because the world of market investing is a zero-sum game. For every winner, there is a loser. Perhaps, the same can be said of the American criminal justice process. When it comes to the practice of criminal law defense, some similarities exist to stock market investing. Lawyers employ their own strategies or styles, but in the end, they generally stick to the same game plan. That is because the criminal justice process is as unpredictable as the market" and is also a zero-sum game: for every winner there is a loser. Of all the different trial strategies employed, the most popular entails defense lawyers not allowing their clients to take the witness stand or not letting the Subaltern Speak.
And perhaps one can understand the wisdom of such a strategy. First, there is the possibility of a cross-examination damaging the potential of the case. Also, defendants would be implicitly surrendering their privilege under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution' against self-incrimination. Finally, it is sometimes impossible to convince someone you are innocent of a crime. Most lay jurors wonder, "What do you have to hide? Why do you need to be silent? And if you were innocent, why would you be arrested?"' While these are notable concerns, I suggest that a disruptive innovation would require defense lawyers to rethink that strategy given that we are at "the bend" at the end of "the trend."
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- The Bend at the End: What Lawyers Can Learn about Disruptions and Innovations in Criminal Defense Practice from Market Analysis
- Creators
- Donald F Tibbs - Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of LawJustin Hollinger (Author)
- Publication Details
- Mercer law review, Vol.69, p901
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Thomas R. Kline School of Law
- Identifiers
- 991021902912004721