The Constitution Is Not A Technicality

As a former prosecutor, I used to believe in “bad guys.”

Those days are long gone.

I am Susan Roach, and I began my legal career as an assistant prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County over 30 years ago, brimming with dreams of protecting the community from the bad guys who had victimized our citizens. As my trial caseload was jammed with child sexual abuse and rape cases, my compassion understandingly rested with the crime victims on whose behalf I tried case after case, obtaining a 100 percent conviction rate. As far as I was concerned then — I’m now ashamed to admit — the defendants’ legal rights were non- existent, as I presumed they were all guilty.

When I entered private practice years later, I’d decided that it was unlikely that I could effectively practice criminal defense due to my bias — an occasional DWI or a nonviolent crime committed by a first offender was all the criminal clientele I anticipated.

Choosing The Roach Law Firm Can Change Your Future

Everything changed when an investigator I’d worked with previously contacted me regarding representing an 18-year-old African-American man who was charged with murder. I was flattered that he’d recommended me, but appalled at what he told me — “He’s innocent… we know he is … the right guy is out of our jurisdiction. There have been so many unsolved service station murders in that area that the authorities charged him to keep a lid on the political fallout.”

After that revelation I worked day and night to obtain a dismissal of the charges. It worked. The former client is living a productive life. Thereafter I defended 31 young men and one woman — all charged with murder — obtaining 11 acquittals, several more dismissals and only one client, after two trials, was convicted of murder in the first degree.

That experience many years ago opened my mind and my heart to each criminal client’s entitlement to the most vigorous criminal defense that I’m capable of providing them, and to the real possibility that many are actually innocent.

Experience Matters

In more recent years of my career as a defense attorney, I have produced an extensive array of acquittals — nearly 80 percent of all clients whom I’ve represented for sexual abuse or rape charges who proceeded to trial. As many of the allegations made arise from family law cases, the meshing of my two main practice areas has been productive.

My firm handles the following types of cases:

• Federal and state criminal offenses
• Sex cases — rape
• Sexual abuse
• Child pornography
• Drug charges (possession, sale, manufacturing, illegal and prescription)
• Violent crimes (assisted suicide)

Additionally, we also help clients facing charges related to:

• White collar crimes (fraud, theft, forgery)
• Non-support
• Juvenile crimes
• DWI
• Alcohol
• Drug-related vehicular crimes
• Expungements
• Federal and state appeals and post-trial motions

It’s nearly impossible to encapsulate the breadth of my colorful criminal defense career, due to its duration. It has provided me the opportunity to appear and try both high-profile, landmark cases, and challenging, novel and ordinary cases in the many venues — Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina and Pennsylvania state courts and the Federal District Courts of Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Kansas, Florida and California — the majority in which I have obtained amazing results. The few losses, curiously, remain with me more than the victories.

Most Recent Criminal Defense Experience: A Sampling

Below, I offer only a sampling of the many cases I’ve handled in the past few years in order to demonstrate my more recent criminal law experience to potential clients:

• I tried the first assisted suicide case brought in Missouri in over 100 years and received an acquittal.
• I co-counseled on a high-profile assisted suicide case in Pennsylvania and received a dismissal.
• I represented the first woman in over 100 years in Missouri for murder and arson, in which the state sought the death penalty. Two favorable outcomes arose therefrom: The Supreme Court confirmed that my introduction of polygraph evidence into evidence was correct and the Supreme Court dismissed the charges based on double jeopardy.
• I represented a young athlete/scholar in South Carolina for vehicular manslaughter and obtained an acquittal.
• I tried two heroin possession cases obtaining acquittals and lost another — and am sad to see the addiction issues so prevalent in Missouri.
• I represented a teacher charged with 14 counts of sodomy and related charges, receiving not-guilty verdicts in 11 of the counts.
• I represented both a third-offense drug lord/businessman and a California businessman, each charged with money laundering in separate cases in Federal District Court.
• I represented a businessman in Illinois Federal District Court for passing counterfeit money at a strip club.
• I represented a woman in Kansas District Court for fraud.
• I represented a woman in Northern California District Court for campaign fund violations and fraud.
• I tried a date rape case and two sexual abuse cases in Missouri state courts, obtaining acquittals in all three cases.

Gain A Competitive Advantage With The Roach Law Firm

We assist clients throughout the St. Louis area, its surrounding counties and Illinois. You can reach us by calling (314) 434-7272. You can also make your appointment by contacting us online.