An extremely talented group of lawyers specializing in criminal defense for over 40 years: Stone & Associates, Ltd

The Silicon Review

Jed Stone is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer from suburban Chicago. He is the principal attorney and founder of Stone & Associates, Ltd., a boutique law firm in Waukegan, Illinois. Mr. Stone founded the firm in 1978. Jed Stone has defended over 100 men and women charged with first degree murder. He has represented over twenty persons in capital murder prosecutions. His law firm has successfully represented nine men wrongfully convicted. Stone’s efforts lead to their exonerations and freedom from prison. This post-conviction work is among the most rewarding work of his career. Mr. Stone believes that the mass incarcerations of the past forty years have needlessly destroyed lives, broken families, and damaged communities. His efforts to avoid prison sentences for his clients and open prison doors for the wrongfully convicted are center pieces of his work as a lawyer.

Jed Stone grew up in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, and in suburban Northbrook, Illinois. He was raised in a Jewish home with liberal parents, influenced by the ideals of FDR’s New Deal and a commitment to equality and freedom. As a young boy, he recalls asking his father to explain words written in Hebrew on the synagogue wall. They were words from the prophet Micah. Micah asked, “What is it that the Lord requires of you?” He answered, “Only to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”

This prescription became a centerpiece for Stone’s life and the core value of his commitment to the law.

While Jed Stone uses legal skills to defend his clients, he recognizes that those intellectual and analytical skills are only a portion of lawyering. A commitment to your client’s cause, an understanding of your client’s life and a belief that every person is worthy of a vigorous defense are the cornerstones of Jed’s practice. The single most important skill Stone practices is listening. From listening to his clients’ stories, come defenses to their cases. Only by listening does this process occur. Jed Stone is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. He has taught trial practice at Northwestern University’s School of Law. He has held a faculty appointment as a Lecturer in Politics at Lake Forest College. He taught at the National Criminal Defense College. Jed is on the faculty of the New York State Defender Association’s Trial Skills Program. He has taught federal defenders in national training programs throughout the country.

Jed is married to Rena Zaid. They live in Highland Park, Illinois. Together they have five adult children and three grandchildren. When not defending people charged with crime or prosecuting cases for plaintiff’s in civil rights cases, Jed plays his guitar and performs sleight of hand magic. Magic, after all, teaches us that things aren’t always as they appear-- a good reminder for those engaged in defending people charged with serious crime.

A page from the life of Jed Stone in his own words

I recall as a young boy being at synagogue with my parents. On the wall was Hebrew writing. I could not read it. I asked my dad what it said. He told me it was from the Prophet Micah. Micah asked, “What does the Lord require of you?” He responded, “Only to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”

Those words left a profound impact on me. To do justice. To love mercy. These have been at the center of my life.

As I was leaving the courthouse yesterday my client said that I was “a kind person.” This struck me. I strive to be “kind” to others but was humbled by the thought that she had noticed my kindness. She said that I was not only kind to her but to others in the court like the sheriff’s deputies, security staff, strangers on the elevators, court staff, clerks, court reporters, and bailiffs. I didn’t know that she had noticed what had occurred naturally. I made me proud to be thought of a “kind.” And it made me appreciate my parents who taught me the value of kindness. But I reminded her that in court, in trial, cross-examining a lying witness, or corrupt cop, or a dishonest prosecutor, I am anything but “kind.” If I am known for kindness to others, I am equally known for being a fierce advocate. A voice for the voiceless. A protector of the despised and the pariahs.

Interesting how things balance out in life.

I spend a great deal of time with my clients listening to their stories. It is only by listening that learn. Advocacy (advancing a client’s cause) demands active listening to the client’s conversations. I once represented a young man charged with killing his girlfriend. She was stabbed 88 times in the stairwell of an apartment building with many witnesses leaning over the railing watching him stab her. It was a bloody and horrible sight.

I met him in the jail on a Saturday morning, the day after the murder. He was a soft spoken, polite young Mexicano. It was impossible to imagine him killing his beloved with a knife. The murder occurred in early November. I went to see him weekly. We talked for hours. But no matter how long we visited, no matter how carefully we reviewed the evidence, the reason for the killing remained a mystery. I could not imagine this boy as a killer.

Our judge kept asking when I would be prepared for trial. I kept delaying. Not because the central facts were in doubt. He killed her. He stabbed her 88 times according to the Medical Examiner. Witnesses heard the young woman scream for her life. They identified him as her killer. The prosecutors were ready and pushing the case to trial. In December, I asked for more time. The indictment said that this murder was “brutal and heinous, indicative of wanton cruelty.” The state sought the young man’s execution.

January and February passed. I continued to visit the young man weekly. We got to know each other well. I liked him. He was thoughtful. Even lovely. How could he be a killer? How could I save his life from the executioner’s grasp? March and April and May came and went. The judge was eager to bring this “simple” case to trial. I continued to visit the client at the jail. And I continued to delay the trial. In June, nearly 8 months since the arrest, the client looked up from his chair in the jail visiting room and said, “You know, she was a witch!”

“A witch? Why didn’t you tell me that?” I asked.

“I didn’t think you would believe me,” he responded.

It took months to earn his trust. It took months to break through the fear that he would not be understood or believed.

These openings lead me on a study of Curanderismo-the study of Mexican folk witchcraft. The woman was a bruja- a witch. She had cast a spell on him. Poisoned him. Controlled him. I knew that this likely would not be defense. But I was confident it would be mitigation that could save his life. I found a university professor who had written about brujas and curanderismo. He testified at our trial. The jury spared the boy’s life. The judge sentenced him to a sentence in the 30 year range (to be served at 50%). The time with my client, learning his story, developing trust, earning a closeness that allowed him to reveal the secret of his bruja, was time well spent.

Lawyers, after all, represent clients. “Represent” is really a combination of “re” and “present.” One cannot re-present something they don’t know or understand. And I cannot know or understand someone’s life without listening to their stories.

Jed Stone, Founder