Not Guilty – Clackamas County Theft Trial

Today, in Clackamas County Circuit Court, a jury unanimously found managing attorney Troy Pickard’s client not guilty of both theft in the second degree and theft in the third degree. Had he been convicted, this defendant could have received a sentence of several years probation, several days in jail, thousands of dollars in fines and the loss of his job. Thanks to the hard work of the lawyers at Portland Defender, this hard-working man is free, keeping his job, and sleeping at night knowing that his lawyer proved his innocence.

The Clackamas County prosecutor’s office had accused the defendant of stealing a mobile phone that a customer had left behind at the restaurant where the defendant worked. Although the prosecution tried to tell the jury that the defendant was untrustworthy, attorney Troy Pickard showed the jury the truth about his client:

“He is absolutely trustworthy, and he did not steal this phone,” Pickard said during the trial’s closing argument.

Along with hearing the truth directly from the defendant, Pickard also brought in several character witnesses to explain the defendant’s honesty over years of working as a waiter and janitor. Troy Pickard didn’t stop there – he questioned one of the police officers that the prosecutor brought to trial to testify against the defendant. Pickard got the police officer to admit that even he believed that the defendant was “very honest.”

Once the lawyers had made their final arguments, the jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes before returning to the courtroom and give their verdict: “Not guilty.”

Several of the jurors thought the case was unusual: “This case was a waste of our taxpayer money,” stated the trial’s presiding juror, outside the courthouse shortly after the trial had ended.