Law Talk
In summary: Defending Guilty People Isn't Easy, or, Why Life Is Not Like Phoenix Wright;
and
A Funny Thing I Found in Spam
I get spam for replica watches all the time, but this is new! *sparkles!* The problem is, throwing them all in jail only makes the prosecution happy, and it doesn't solve any problems in the long run. Also!
Why Defending Guilty People Isn't Easy 1. First, let's get the "moral reasons" out of the way. The most noise I've heard for the whole Why We Don't Like Lawyers debate (oh, trust me, I've heard most of the arguments, and mostly from my family) comes from, in descending order,
You're all slimy creatures (the sibling), then,
You defend guilty people. It's the second one I have the most problems with.
To be true, it probably comes from the fact that when I was young and impressionable and didn't know I was going to go to law school yet, I read an article I remember to this day, entitled
Why I Defend Guilty People, written by a lawyer far more eminent and practiced than I am, and the main reason behind it was,
Because sometimes they're innocent. And
sometimes they are. The problem is
proving it, really, because the criminal justice system is
so weighted against the offender, and while I understand why it should be that way: the system's there to
protect the innocent, but it doesn't mean that due process should get thrown out of the window. I honestly do believe that people are innocent until they're proven guilty, although that may not be the way things seem to get done sometimes, and in practice the principle really is more along the lines of Guilty Until Proven Innocent, but
still.
The point
is,
everyone is entitled to legal representation (and I'm not making a point for lawyers here for the money, because most of the public defenders don't take any money from the people they're defending, they're paid by the state because
a lot of people who need it the most
can't pay for legal representation, and the system has
got to recognise that fact). And even though in this country it's been decided that while an accused has a right to legal representation, he doesn't have a right to be told that he has a right to legal representation (we don't read the Miranda here, guys, different jurisdiction), they're
still entitled to legal representation. Everyone who comes before the court should be entitled to have someone who knows the law to speak their case for them, someone who knows the system, someone who can represent them and their interests, because the
judicial system was made to be formal and this is
scary to people who are already scared and thrown into a system they never wanted to be in trouble with. I'm not saying that they're not guilty, but that even if they
are guilty, they should have someone to look out for them, to make sure their case is being handled right. Even if a lawyer can't prove a client innocent, legal representation can make a difference in sentencing, and maybe it doesn't seem so to the outside world, but even one month less in prison
means something to the defendant.
I don't know if I'd have thought this way before starting work, but I do now. I don't know if it's the effect of coming into courtrooms where they leave the doors to the room where the prisoners wait to come to trial open, so that the prisoners can look out and wave to their family and friends in the galley. This sounds incredibly cruel, perhaps, but I'd never seen prisoners up close before, I'd never seen people handcuffed in courtrooms before, and maybe it is because I am still young, but I couldn't help feeling for them. I know that a fair number of them (if not all of those I saw) were probably guilty, and that the handcuffs and the security, it's all there
for a reason, and it's so that the people in the courtroom can do their business
safely and without fearing assault. Still. Putting a human face on a defendant changes your perspective on what's going to happen to him and his family when he goes behind bars. I know I only think this way because I'm still young and the walls of informed impartiality aren't all the way up just yet, and also because I haven't been in practice long enough to get jaded. But for the moment, I still think this way.
2. And before I went off on that tangent, there are
PRACTICAL REASONS why defendin guilty people isn't easy.
I'd say that when it comes to defending guilty people, it's not
morality that's the biggest of your problems. If you don't take the case, someone else is going to have to take it, and if it's a case that's come to your firm: Too damn bad,
someone is going to have to take it. And as junior lawyers, it's fairly likely that
you'll get it, because,
ONE,
You need the experience - and while this can serve as a catch-all phrase for,
TWO,
So we can give you the work we don't want to do, it is also true that you need all the experience you can get, even if it is only to decide that it is an experience you'd rather
not get at the end of it all.
The problem with people who are genuinely guilty is: they're not going to present like innocent people. The evidence is not going to help you get them off. (and not like that) You will be looking at
absolutely overwhelming evidence screaming THIS GUY IS SO GUILTY, and it is
so damn hard to put that aside and say
I'm gonna do the best job I can. I say it's hard because it's
not easy to give your all to something
you don't believe in. And it's so easy for people to say
Then just don't take the case. It
is and it
isn't that simple. Because if you don't do it -
who else will? I'm not Atticus Finch, and I'm not going to pretend I am, and I don't think it was any easier on him, either, but still -
it's not easy.
But sometimes,
they aren't guilty. Sometimes the evidence seems to point all one way, but
your guy is innocent. And while I must admit I am not a believer of the "Better ten guilty men go free than one innocent be wrongly convicted" philosophy, I have this (and probably most people do) absolute prohibition and complete sense of
wrong about convicting an innocent person, even and
especially when someone has to take the blame.
I'm not yet sure if time will give me the profound distaste for the practice of criminal litigation which Atticus Finch had, but even now, I can see how people get there.
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And now for something
completely different: I am not an Arashi fan, but my heavens, they make FUN icon material! (This reminds me, I still haven't done a proper Abyss icon post) This icon post is especially in honour for
farfello, who was the FIRST to introduce me to Arashi videos. I don't yet know of this is going to be a wild-and-crazy fall-in-love obsession the way Abyss or even
Blades of Glory was, but I
do know that I can't stop making Arashi icons (they do the most priceless photoshoots
ever), and I love their videos, whether they are dancing in top hats and tailcoats atop a subtle-as-a-jackhammer rainbow, making tempura out of marshmallows, strawberries
and strawberry cake.
And actually, if anyone can and doesn't mind identifying who's turning up in the Arashi icons, I would greatly apprciate the help. ♥ Kaasan helped for these ♥ I have now, so I know those already. 
icons
bases
Also,
anyasy linked
this amazing Balthier and Basch cosplay,
as well as this
Balthier and Fran cosplay. An amazingly good Fran, really, I can't believe anyone could have pulled off making all that armor and that costume quite as well as this cosplayer did. I'm just really pleased at the Balthier and Basch. Many thanks for the links! ♥
The thing is, what most may not realise is that lawyers are officers of the court (at least in Singapore). Lawyers can't lie to the court. They can't make up evidence. They don't take a shovel and help our clients dispose of the body in some isolated stretch of road. If the guy admits that he is guilty, lawyers are not allowed to plead that he is guilty and the most we can do is just mitigate. All lawyers can do is work within the system and laws to present the best case to the judge. It is up to the judge to then decide whether to rightly whack the offender with the law or set him free. (Of course, there may be exceptions in less than ethical lawyers... action have been taken against lawyers who were found lying to or misleading the court)
It's also rather hard for one to prejudge who is the "innocent" or "guilty" party. The client comes up to you with their side of the story, true or not, it's the only side you hear. It's always an intriguing experience reading family law cases because both sides sound utterly convincing, at least on paper. Of course it becomes a matter of the judge deciding who is lying. But how do lawyers know for sure that the client is truly innocent or a really glib liar? I think that even if the person is guilty, he does need a lawyer to help him with any sort of mitigation or at least ensure that there is due process and he is dealt fairly under the law.
And as a wise friend said to me (for those who believe there is God or karma or some kind of after life retribution), they may escape judgment on earth, but they can't escape judgment in heaven. ^____~
I mean, I totally understand why we get a bad rep, and I know that the profession has its fair share of unscrupulous individuals, but the kind of attitude people give the legal profession sometimes completely misses out on the good work that the profession does and can do. A lot of people have this misguided conception of what lawyers can do and do do, and I suspect a fair number of them get their ideas from the media. Or only remember the cases when really bad lawyering turns up. (And of course mostly the bad lawyers end up in the papers so people can remember them better)
That's true! It's so hard to judge who is the "innocent" party, especially when naturally both sides present the most convincing arguments for their case. And sometimes neither party is innocent. I really do wish that there was a universal truth-telling machine, it'd make the job of the courts so much easier.
*grin* A law school classmate once told me much the same thing. I suppose it's the only consolation there is if justice can't be found on earth. But what if (apologies, I don't mean to cast aspersions on faith or religion) there is no heaven, and what of the victim's/other party's family, on earth? I find it so hard to accept verdicts that don't go the way they should, but sometimes there genuinely is nothing that one can do about it. *wry smile* I wish the justice system was perfect. Even though I know it's impossible.
I agree about the Fran! O________o;; She did a bloody fantastic job with the hair *continues staring* And the Basch has veeeeeery prettie muscles :9 The Balthier I'm less fond of, mostly because the game version has kind of reached some Celestial Plane of Manliness for me. Don't you dare laugh.
My dear, it's now EXTREMELY obvious that you like Matsumoto Jun's looks, because he's in 6 of your 9 bases. xD All the icons with only one person in them are MatsuJun icons (you probably know that >D), the "Crazy" one is Aiba/Jun and the "bridges" one is Sho/Aiba (That one you should know too. It's the file name! :p)
XDDDD!! I am very amused by your choice of FFXII icons! You must have picked them for the emotion they convey? Because I would have expected you to have Basch and Balthier and Fran icons to the MAX. ;) Oddly enough, the FFXII icons that have survived til now are the Balthier, Basch and Asche ... TYPO, I mean, Ashe, icons. I used to have Vaan and Penelo ones, as well. HEY. ;) Your FFXII icons are MY favourite characters and my icons are... largely your favourites! ;)
Eeee!! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like the manga! ♥ I'm actually waiting for Volume 2 to come out! ♥
Pretty muscles? I must go back and take a SECOND LOOK. ;) I beam at your Celestial Plane of Manliness and hope it is not as confusing as Giruvegan, but I totally understand what you mean. *grin* I just emit hearts a lot at this Balthier because his costume is the best I've ever seen so far, his looks aren't that far off from the character, and he kind of reminds me of Edward Norton. and omg I would never dream of laughing!
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I was about to make an observation that I seem to find Matsumoto Jun very iconable, but then I realised my icons speak for themselves. >D Whoops for not noticing the file name: I say that it was the ARASHI PRETTY that blinded me. XDDDD Thank you so much for helping me ID them! ;) XDDDDDD
I hope your trip there went fine and you are enjoying yourself? AND OH OH I HOPE GRADUATION WILL BE/IS/WAS FUN? ♥
Secondly, on the defending guilty people: When I was taking Crim Justice Studies last year, I felt like I learned alot about why it is so important that even the guilty have proper legal representation, because to deny them of that would be a far worse thing than them getting off IMO.
People tend to freak out when they hear that 'guilty' people are released, but they fail to recognize many times that there are often reasons for that. Things like botched investigations, false testimony, forced confessions, poor handling of evidence, insufficient evidence, ect.
The public doesn't want to hear that though. They want 'bad people' put away forever, but if they were in the position of being wrongly accused, they'd be damn glad those technicalities exist. >.>!
I like lawyers :D And I'm pretty much just repeating what everyone else has said, but a lot of time guilt and innocence aren't so clear-cut and there's always more than one side to every story, and I believe every defendant has the right, with the help of a lawyer, to give his/her account of things, and... basically, I just like lawyers.
Oh, Arashi. I've heard of that band several times, but have never listened to any of their songs--perhaps I should.
And yeah, those cosplay pictures were really good--Balthier was really awesome! The Fran one was good, too, I thought that her costume was really well done. xD