You can't pick cherries with your back to the tree.

N. Except for his period of military service Mitchell practiced law in New York City from 1938 until 1968 and earned a reputation as a successful municipal bond lawyer. Due to his involvement in the Watergate affair he was sentenced to prison in 1977 serving 19 months.

Prior to that he was a noted New York municipal bond lawyer director of Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign and one of Nixon's closest personal friends; after his tenure as Attorney General he served as director of Nixon's 1972 presidential campaign. As Attorney General Mitchell was noted for personifying the "law-and-order" positions of the Nixon administration amid several high-profile anti-war demonstrations.