The Rose Cafe event with Judge Scott Miller opened my eyes about the importance of defending the guilty. When a student asked multiple questions to him, Judge Miller answered the questions clearly and shared his first trial experience using the student’s brother as an example. The student’s brother was the defendant, and the defendant was accused of having dangerous items in the car’s trunk. When the defendant told Judge Miller that he was going to talk to his family member about the items, I knew that the defendant had no bad intentions. Judge Miller told us that only he knew that the case was a temporary and lawful possession, which is a rule in New York that a person can come across a possession as long as he or she discards the possession without causing harm https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/cji/1-General/CJI2d.Possession_Temporary.pdf .

I did not know about the temporary and lawful possession, and before Judge Miller explained what it was, I thought that people who possessed dangerous items were automatically guilty. I am glad that Judge Miller and the jury helped the defendant get his justice and prove his innocence. Thus, Judge Miller’s talk gave us all a better understanding of how defending the guilty works.