Kristen Nelson is one of the amazing attorneys with the Colorado Public Defender's Office who represented James Holmes, the young man who was charged and ultimately convicted in the Aurora theater shooting case. She wrote an excellent piece for the National Association of Public Defenders entitled "The Myth of the “Evil” Defendant: Reflections on the Aurora Theater Shooting Case". In it, she describes the characterizations of Mr. Holmes as "evil" by members of the media, the

Will the DA really take my case to trial? Would the court system really waste all that time and money on my case? Yes, the DA will take your case to trial if they think they can prove the case against you (and in some cases, even when they don't). Although the court system seems to have way too many cases and not enough staff or money to deal with all of them, they will still take the time and effort to have jury trials, even for minor offenses. In recent years, there has bee