Question: My daughter was arrested and accused of shooting someone outside a house in Philadelphia. On the night of the shooting, she says she was with her friends at a local bar. Apparently, there is a witness that said she saw my daughter at the shooting. This witness knows my daughter, but I know they don’t get along. They have a pretty bad history and have gotten into fights before. My daughter says the witness is lying, and she is doing it to get my daughter in trouble. I know the girl has been in trouble with the law before. Can my daughter be convicted?
Answer: I am sorry to hear about your daughter. I cannot tell you that she will or will not be convicted. I need more information about the situation. What I can tell you is that there are multiple defenses which may help your daughter. I recently handled a murder case where the prosecution’s case hinged on the credibility of the star witness and was able to help my client get freed from jail because we were able to show that the witness was lying. To see what happened in that case, click here.
To help your daughter build a defense in a Philadelphia murder case, we would need to investigate and find evidence to prove that she was not at the shooting.
Video Footage
One of the ways to prove that your daughter was not at the shooting is through video footage. If your daughter was at the local bar, there may be cameras outside the bar that would have videotaped her going in and out of the bar. If the time she entered the bar was before the shooting and the time she left the bar was after the shooting, that is pretty compelling evidence that she was not at the scene of the shooting.
If the bar does not have cameras outside, there may still be other videos available. For instance, if the bar is near a store, bank or school, there may be cameras outside those places that captured her walking down the street around the time of the shooting. Again, this would prove that she was not at the shooting.
Witness Testimony
Even if there are no videos, we can still talk to witnesses that saw her at the bar on the night of the shooting. If she had drinks at the bar, we can interview employees and bartenders at the bar that may have served her. Thus, putting your daughter at the bar at the time of the shooting.
You said she was with her friends at the bar. Her friends can testify on her behalf that she was with them on the night of the shooting. Of course, the prosecution can attack her friends’ credibility and the jury would have to decide whether they think your daughter’s friends are credible witnesses or they are just saying that she was with them to help her due to their friendships.
Attack the Witness’s Credibility
Just like the prosecution can attack your daughter’s friends’ credibility, we can attack the credibility of the witness who claims she saw your daughter. Just because the witness said that she saw your daughter at the scene does not mean that she was there. She could be lying.
Related: Attacking Eyewitness Credibility in Philadelphia Murder Trials
At trial, we would attack her credibility. First, we would question her run ins with the law. However, not all of her run ins with the law can be questioned. We can only attack her credibility and question her on crimes of dishonesty. For instance, if she committed insurance and credit card fraud, was caught and convicted, then we would be able to question her on that case. We would show the jury that she has a history committing fraud.
In addition, we would question her motive. She has it out for your daughter and there is a history between them. Therefore, she has a motive for lying to get your daughter in trouble.
It is best that we talk to your daughter about the case because she is facing serious accusations. We offer FREE consultations. Please call our office to discuss your daughter’s case. 215.564.0644
Mr. Nenner Helps Get His Client Released from Jail After Spending Months in Jail for a Murder He Did Not Commit
Mr. Nenner has handled cases where the credibility of the witnesses was at issue. In a recent Philadelphia murder case, Mr. Nenner’s client was accused of shooting someone outside a bar. On the night of the shooting, Mr. Nenner’s client was at another bar 4 miles away watching a fight on TV.
Months after the shooting, the DA’s office got a call from a career criminal who was waiting to be sentenced after pleading guilty to four armed robberies in Federal court. In hopes of reducing his own sentence, he told the DA that he saw Mr. Nenner’s client shoot the victim.
Due to Mr. Nenner’s investigation, he uncovered evidence which challenged the DA’s theory that his client was the shooter. In addition, the location where the witness said he saw the shooting was blocks away, and it would have been impossible for him to see the shooting.
For full details about this case, see here.
