The Law is an Ass (Burt Prelutsky)

Townhall.com ^ | June 2, 2008 | Burt Prelutsky

[EveningStar]

I often find myself wondering how seemingly normal people ever wind up being criminal defense attorneys. When even Harvard law professor and one-time member of O.J. Simpson’s so-called dream team Alan Dershowitz claims that over 90% of all criminal defendants are guilty, why would any sane person want to devote his life to trying to spring hundreds, maybe even thousands, of felons?

[Tex Pete]

“why would any sane person want to devote his life to trying to spring hundreds, maybe even thousands, of felons?”

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.— 1 Timothy 6:10

[rivercat]

Exactly

[clamper1797]

They are not there only for the 90% who are guilty. They are mostly there for those of us who are not ... for without them we would ALL be guilty at the governments whim

[kbennkc]

Any conservative who has so little regard for the wrongly accused caught up in our criminal justice system that he engages in lawyer bashing demagoguery , is very close to trading his respect for civil liberties for statism .

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Here is a book by one of the lawyers, I haven’t read it but the interview sounded interesting.

“How Can You Defend Those People: The Making of a Criminal Lawyer”

http://www.amazon.com/How-Can-Defend-Those-People/dp/0394411846

[wideawake]

There is a difference between defending a guilty man as an innocent at trial, and defending a guilty man by negotiating the best deal he can get in exchange for a guilty plea.

Defense attorneys serve an essential purpose in our criminal justice system and many of them will work pro bono for a client they truly believe to be innocent.

Not every defense attorney is an F. Lee Bailey/Gerry Spence level scumbag.

[patton]

By design, it is an adversarial system. Not because it works well, but because nothing else works better.

[contemplator]

"..why would any sane person want to devote his life to trying to spring hundreds, maybe even thousands, of felons?.."

I had a conversation with my 10 year old son several months ago which will stick with me forever. While on our way to Boy Scouts I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. His mother and I had mentioned many times over the years that we would love for him to be a Doctor or a Lawyer attempting to set the bar pretty high and telling him that he would have to work hard to get to one of those lofty positions. It was no surprise to me then when he answered lawyer. I decided to dig a little deeper figuring he was simply parrotting what he thought I wanted to hear.

I then asked him why thinking that he would give a pat answer such as "I want to help people" or even something as simple as "the money". His response stunned me. He answered "Because Hitler needed a lawyer". I didn't know what to say. Although he is only 10, he and I have had many discussions about the holocaust and I had sent him to a Jewish summer camp for the past couple of years now just so he could be exposed to a different culture. After a very pregnant pause I asked him to elaborate. He responed "It doesn't matter how bad a human being is, everyone deserves someone to take their side and to argue it for all it's worth."

I have long since pre-paid for my son's first four years of college via the Florida pre-paid college fund. I began that day to save in earnest for law school.

[1rudeboy]

I’ll see your Timothy 6:10, and raise you Amendments V & VI to the U.S. Constitution.

[pnh102]

Has Burt Prelutsky ever considered that the notion that 90% of all accused are guilty is because prosecutors have to work very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are in fact guilty. Prosecutors have to do this only because the accused can have a criminal defense lawyer work on their behalf. Could you imagine how many more innocent people would be imprisoned illegally if we did not have criminal defense lawyers?

[mad_as_he$$]

Like it or not even the "guilty" deserve a good defense.

In this area all Freepers should go there but for the grace.... In the world today you can stand accused of the most heinous crimes in the blink of an eye. They can even take you away and lock you up with no bail. They do not even have to tell you what you are charged with or let anyone know where you are. Many criminal defense attorney's are not high profile and make surprisingly small amounts of $$$$.

[patton]

You are a more generous dad than I. I told my kids, pick any VA state school, I will pay for for years.

Then I am going to break your plate.

LOL.

[Publius Valerius]

I don’t know about that. There’s a lot better ways to make money than as a criminal defense attorney. Most of them don’t even make that much.

[Aria]

That’s a pretty grown up view of being a lawyer - especially for a 10 year old. However, I disagree - there are people I think aren’t worthy of any defense - including Hitler. Otherwise, everything is relative and subject to whoever manages to put out a convincing agrument.

IMHO.

[joebuck]

Biblical doctrine holds that 100% of all people are guilty of the capital offense of sin. Why would any sane God sacrifice his only begotten perfect son to act as a mediator for these rotten sinful people and save them from a wrathful God. I’m just glad he did.

[steve-b]

Has Burt Prelutsky ever considered that the notion that 90% of all accused are guilty is because prosecutors have to work very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are in fact guilty. Prosecutors have to do this only because the accused can have a criminal defense lawyer work on their behalf. Could you imagine how many more innocent people would be imprisoned illegally if we did not have criminal defense lawyers?

Precisely. This dimwitted column is equivalent to arguing that modern sanitation is a waste of money because hardly anybody gets cholera these days.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Frankly, if I had been on the bench that day, I would have assured the mouthpiece not to worry about the rope because even if it broke, the fall would no doubt kill his gargantuan client.

Not to worry: his head will be ripped off before the rope ever breaks. Rest easy.

[kdot]

Well said. Wait until the poster has a run-in with the “system”. It could very well happen that a close relative has a brush with the law - maybe for the first time. Cops could pile on every known offense and an over-zealous prosecutor could be playing for stats. Heaven forbid if it gets to the fed level. If this ever happens, said poster would probably support paying the best defense attorney to “help”. Plea bargain? Get off completely? Navigate the system?

Don’t say never because it can happen to you or your family.

[realdifferent1]

why would any sane person want to devote his life to trying to spring hundreds, maybe even thousands, of felons?

Because that is not the job of a defense atty [in a perfect world]; it is to keep the state from 'Nifonging' defendents.

As I say, in a perfect world.