W.Z., a retired combat veteran, was accused of the worst crime a father could be accused of, and, to make matters worse, the criminal charges carried a mandatory Life sentence in Florida state prison. For attorney Nicholas Matassini and the Defense, this was a jury trial case from day one. There would be no plea offers or attempts at resolving the matter short of a trial. W.Z. forcefully denied the horrific allegations from day one.
It was an uphill challenge from the start though with the prosecution pitch forks out at the very beginning of the case, seeking to hold W.Z. in jail for the duration of pre-trial proceedings and eventual jury trial. Two judges later, multiple motions, and an appeal – W.Z. finally got out of pre-trial custody on house arrest.
The actual allegations and initial forensic investigation could be dealt with, but W.Z.’s alleged “confession” posed a significant legal hurdle. However, this alleged confession was anything but – a product of an overzealous detective and improper interrogation tactics. Nicholas discovered the lead detective had been reprimanded by the Sheriff’s office for previous improper questioning that violated suspects’ constitutional rights, among other department infractions. Making a big deal out of this at trial and a central theme of the case, Nicholas introduced internal affairs evidence, over vigorous objections by the prosecution team, regarding the detective’s prior discipline history with the Sheriff’s office and established for the jury that W.Z.’s “confession” was tainted and should be given no weight at all as evidence.
In a scene straight out of a Hollywood legal blockbuster, W.Z. took the stand in his own defense after hours of preparation with Nicholas and battled with the prosecutor for over an hour on cross-examination, at one point rising from the witness chair in dramatic fashion and demanding the prosecutor to look him in the eyes. The jury was out for less than two hours and returned with a resounding Not Guilty Verdict on all counts.