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Many our most fundamental rights are specifically concerned with rights of the accused. Everyday in some court room defense attorneys, most of whom are underpaid and overworked, make sure that the accused are afforded the full protection of those rights.
I was thinking about this after reading another story about the Boston Bombing case and how attorney's Judy Clarke, David Bruck, and William Fick go into court day in and day out to defend someone who I personally think is indefensible, just because the our Constitution essentially guarantees that a defendant has a right to counsel to insure that their rights are protected.
In light of all the back and forth about the Constitution, I can think of no group of people more dedicated to it.
Then I'll choose to hate the game and give the players a pass. When defending a poor minority, they are underpaid and under-effective. But when defending a high-visibility case like Tsarnaev or OJ Simpson, they won't be underpaid and they are much more effective in getting guilty people off.
It's about the number of suits and money thrown at a case that wins. So it doesn't have much do to with justice. And don't even get me started on corporate defense attorneys.
But when defending a high-visibility case like Tsarnaev or OJ Simpson, they won't be underpaid and they are much more effective in getting guilty people off.
Seriously?
Even for high profile cases OJ Simpson was such an outlier on so many level as to warrant its own version of Godwin's Law when mentioned in a discussion. Aside from the fact that one case was tried in state court with paid private attorneys while the other is being tried federally by those appointed by the court.
Even more disparately, unlike too many state capital trials, court appointed attorneys in federal capital cases are drawn from a small group of around 100 senior defense lawyers who can charge no more that $181.00 per hour.
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It's about the number of suits and money thrown at a case that wins.
Many our most fundamental rights are specifically concerned with rights of the accused. Everyday in some court room defense attorneys, most of whom are underpaid and overworked, make sure that the accused are afforded the full protection of those rights.
I was thinking about this after reading another story about the Boston Bombing case and how attorney's Judy Clarke, David Bruck, and William Fick go into court day in and day out to defend someone who I personally think is indefensible, just because the our Constitution essentially guarantees that a defendant has a right to counsel to insure that their rights are protected.
In light of all the back and forth about the Constitution, I can think of no group of people more dedicated to it.
Most defense attorney's have ethics and integrity. Then you have some that don't.
The case you mention above, these attorney's are trying to save his life. He's facing death and they went into court and admitted the defendant did it but was influenced by his brother.
I applaud them for that.
But with the latest trials I've seen, like Jodi Arias, like Casey Anthony, those defense attorneys went in to trail placing blame on the victim or the family. Those defense attorney's I have nothing good to say about them.
Lawyers are officers of the court and should not lie or allow their client to lie just to prove reasonable doubt.
Defense attorneys are cogs in the system, just like cops, prosecutors, judges, etc. They deserve no more or less respect for their contribution than anybody else in the system.
I think people have trouble understanding the role of defense counsel. The idea is not to get your client off at any and all costs, but rather to insure that the accused is treated fairly under the law, and to function as a check upon the power of the prosecution and the court. That's not so say that all defense lawyers work that way, but then not all prosecutors and judges do their job properly either.
Attorneys are humans (really). They have a code of ethics, but it is so easy for many to fall into the trap of "win at all cost". High achieving people, like attorneys, tend to be very competitive. They can justify bending some rules to certain extent by saying they are representing their clients zealously (which they must do).
On the flip side, prosecutors are known to suffer from the same problem from time to time. They love to hide exculpatory evidence, on purpose or by carelessness, which of course they are required to turn over to defense. They also get caught up in, in the immortal words of Charlie Sheen, #winning instead of carrying out justice.
Like realtors, lawyers have a code of ethics. Like realtors, many of them don't quite follow the rules for whatever reason. Like realtors, lawyers are widely vilified, sometimes rightfully.
Defense attorneys are cogs in the system, just like cops, prosecutors, judges, etc. They deserve no more or less respect for their contribution than anybody else in the system.
There's is one huge difference, unlike cops and prosecutors, defense attorneys have to get up every day and with full knowledge of what there client has done, stand before a judge and jury and do your best to defend people who have done the most evil things with dispassion and professionalism.
....
But with the latest trials I've seen, like Jodi Arias, like Casey Anthony, those defense attorneys went in to trail placing blame on the victim or the family. Those defense attorney's I have nothing good to say about them. .....
This is what defense attorneys are supposed to do. And if the blame does indeed lie with the "victim" then it is absolutely the defense lawyer's responsibility to point that out to the court. It's not a question of "ethics". It's a matter at getting to the truth.
Let us not forget, there is a judge in the court room. If any lawyer goes too far, breaks a real ethics rule, etc. then the judge will call them out on it. That is why they are there.
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