My Theory on Criminal Defense
The first question I always hear when I tell people I'm going to law school is this:
"Are you going to defend people you know are guilty?"
The answer is yes- and as vigorously as I can.
I've given this a lot of thought, believe it or not. And I've come to the conclusion that everyone, regardless of whether or not they committed the crime, deserves a fair trial. Everyone. This is the hallmark of our justice system. A society where this does not occur will quickly revert back to Jim Crow era justice, which enslaves the powerless through courtroom shenanigans.
Furthermore, as a criminal defense lawyer, my job is to have my client found "not guilty". Period. The prosecutor's job is to thwart my every attempt to make this happen. The jury's job is to determine the case on its merits. If there is enough evidence to prove the case, then nothing I can do can keep the convicted out of jail. To put it another way, if a guilty client I'm defending walks, the blame rests entirely on the prosecutor and the jury who decided his fate. To summarize, if there isn't enough evidence to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt", then the guilty man should walk free, regardless of the truth.
Why? Because our court system is set up in such a way to ensure that innocent people are rarely arrested and placed in jail. In other words, the court system would rather see 100 guilty people go free than one innocent man land up in jail. This is why the court demands such a high level of proof.
This is all very nice and logical, but I recognize that there is an emotional and moral element that has been deftly sidestepped. What we must remember (especially as lawyers) is that the law is not emotional or ethical, only legal. We can only enforce what's on the books. If it gives you any comfort however, various religions hold that there is another "court" where everyone will be weighed in turn.
So just because a person walks free doesn't mean it didn't happen. And I like to think that somehow, someway, everything equals out. We can all take our medicine sooner or later- good defense lawyers only delay the inevitable.
"Are you going to defend people you know are guilty?"
The answer is yes- and as vigorously as I can.
I've given this a lot of thought, believe it or not. And I've come to the conclusion that everyone, regardless of whether or not they committed the crime, deserves a fair trial. Everyone. This is the hallmark of our justice system. A society where this does not occur will quickly revert back to Jim Crow era justice, which enslaves the powerless through courtroom shenanigans.
Furthermore, as a criminal defense lawyer, my job is to have my client found "not guilty". Period. The prosecutor's job is to thwart my every attempt to make this happen. The jury's job is to determine the case on its merits. If there is enough evidence to prove the case, then nothing I can do can keep the convicted out of jail. To put it another way, if a guilty client I'm defending walks, the blame rests entirely on the prosecutor and the jury who decided his fate. To summarize, if there isn't enough evidence to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt", then the guilty man should walk free, regardless of the truth.
Why? Because our court system is set up in such a way to ensure that innocent people are rarely arrested and placed in jail. In other words, the court system would rather see 100 guilty people go free than one innocent man land up in jail. This is why the court demands such a high level of proof.
This is all very nice and logical, but I recognize that there is an emotional and moral element that has been deftly sidestepped. What we must remember (especially as lawyers) is that the law is not emotional or ethical, only legal. We can only enforce what's on the books. If it gives you any comfort however, various religions hold that there is another "court" where everyone will be weighed in turn.
So just because a person walks free doesn't mean it didn't happen. And I like to think that somehow, someway, everything equals out. We can all take our medicine sooner or later- good defense lawyers only delay the inevitable.
posted by Yorick at 10:57 AM
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