I believe in fate. When I was stirring over what to write, my phone rang at exactly 5:45 a.m. It was my brother. He knows me. He knows I’m up early in the morning. It might surprise you that I didn’t answer the phone. I didn’t answer because, although I’m up early in the morning, my two-year-old daughter Gracie better still be asleep dreaming about Sesame Street or Daniel Tiger (her current favorites). So that’s why I didn’t answer. I was trying to keep quiet. Despite me not answering his call, my brother had made his point. Before his call, I was searching for inspiration. Now I had it.
Odalo J. Ohiku, Marquette 2002, practices criminal defense at Law Office of Odalo J. Ohiku, Milwaukee. He is active in the State Bar of Wisconsin, serving on the Board of Governors, the Executive Committee, and the Diversity & Inclusion Oversight Committee. He is a member of the Criminal Law and Solo/Small Firm & General Practice sections and the Government Lawyers Division.
My brother is in prison. Yet he remains one of the most influential people in my life. He’s my older brother. Thus, I feel compelled to let you in on a little secret. Older brothers are gods to younger brothers. And so, by magical forces of the universe, he has always had a profound impact on me. Add to the mix, we grew up without our father, and voila, his god status becomes legendary.
So what’s the big deal? Kid brother idolizes older brother. And?
As a criminal defense attorney, one of my many jobs is to fight for my clients (zealously advocate and represent).
Day in and day out I do just that. I fight for my clients, mentally grappling over what I can do better to help them. Agonizing over what I can do to help avoid a criminal conviction. Worrying about what I can do to keep them from going to prison.
Perhaps now you begin to sense a glimpse of my glaring daily struggle. On one hand, fighting blood, sweat, and tears for strangers. On the other hand, living with my one and only older brother locked in prison. This paradox I am living keeps me up at night. It makes me angry, really angry at times. Ironically (perhaps magically), the one thing that seems to get me back down to earth is my brother.
How proud he is of me. How proud he is that his life sparked a fire deep in my soul to be better, to do better, and to help others. None of us is perfect. Our criminal justice system definitely is not perfect. But the universal ideal of helping people get justice is, to me, perfect. And that’s how I cope.
That’s how I cope with living as a criminal defense attorney while at the same time having a brother in prison. Believe me it isn’t easy. However, hearing his voice and reading his letters help me cope.
With his permission, here is an unedited snippet of something he wrote me in a letter....
“Hello Bro,
“I come with much love & respect for you as well as the family. Tell Mary & Grace I say hello. Tell that sister-in-law of mine that when we spoke a few weeks ago that I thought I made it clear to her about sending me pictures of my niece! 😊 Ma told me that Grace has your determination in her. I heard she is beautiful. I know after a hard day’s work coming home to your baby and wife is refreshing.”
If I’m being honest, and I am, part of me feels vulnerable for sharing this very private part of my life. After all, being a criminal defense attorney, I’m in court and the public all the time. I see many of you, my peers, all the time. I realize in baring myself as I have, I have chosen to expose myself to judgment.
Well, I guess its judgment day. I will depart with something I hear all the time: I’m hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. Go easy on me.
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I admit it. I am a man. And I cry. Sometimes. It is fairly easy to cry after a long trial in which you feel as though you and your client are tightly clutched in King Kong’s grip except neither of you are the apple in his eye. You have this palpable pulsating pressure encircling you like a shark. You feel nothing has been fair. Nothing has gone your way. And then ... the verdict is read: not guilty.
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a criminal defense attorney is having your client vindicated in court. Not all people accused of a crime are guilty. Having a client vindicated despite immeasurable odds might make just about any man cry.
Odalo J. Ohiku, Law Office of Odalo J. Ohiku, Milwaukee.
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