WORKING WITH DANIEL TO PROTECT A TRULY INNOCENT DEFENDANT WAS ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCES
I worked with Attorney Daniel McGarrigle in my role as a forensic psychologist expert witness on one of the most difficult kinds of criminal cases, a coerced false confession case. The defendant was a young black man with a learning disability from a middle class family, who was picked up as a suspect while wearing a “hoodie,” forced into signing a false confession by police, and subsequently tried in front of an all white jury. Luckily the family had retained Daniel to defend their falsely accused son. Despite the near impossibility of overcoming the police testimony, a signed confession, and a signed Miranda rights waiver, Daniel McGarrigle won the case with a unanimous jury acquittal. I realized during the trial that in these types of cases the best attorneys are not from the biggest law firms, but the ones who truly understand “the system” such as cross-examining about police procedures, countering prosecutorial tactics, and demonstrating trial expertise to the trial judge and jury. Working with Daniel to protect a truly innocent defendant was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
