2 answers
Abigail
Student
Perry Hall, Maryland
1
Question
Updated
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How do so many defense attorneys sleep at night and go on about their lives normally knowing that they are defending people who have committed horrible crimes ?
I am a 12th grader going on to be an attorney after college. I struggle with picking if I want to be a defense attorney or a prosecutor. I care greatly about mental health issues and including them in our legal system without a stigma. I am a huge advocate on ending gun violence in our schools.
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2 answers
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1860
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Abigail,
EVERYONE is entitled to a fair trial. Your job as a defense attorney is to do the best you can for your client. It might just be a reduced sentence. If your client is acquitted, it is NOT because of something you did. It's because the prosecutor failed to make their case. Maybe the police obtained illegal evidence or a confession. Maybe the prosecutor's star witness fell apart on the stand. But, if your client walks, it is the Government's fault. If your client then goes out and kills someone, it's not on you. It is important that you understand this, regardless which side you choose to work on.
Many law school graduates start out working prosecution cases, and later cross over. Private practice criminal defense pays well, if you are good. And working for the prosecutor's office first gives you an inside window to how your future "Enemy" thinks and operates.
Mental health law is important, and I commend you for your interest in it!
Kim
EVERYONE is entitled to a fair trial. Your job as a defense attorney is to do the best you can for your client. It might just be a reduced sentence. If your client is acquitted, it is NOT because of something you did. It's because the prosecutor failed to make their case. Maybe the police obtained illegal evidence or a confession. Maybe the prosecutor's star witness fell apart on the stand. But, if your client walks, it is the Government's fault. If your client then goes out and kills someone, it's not on you. It is important that you understand this, regardless which side you choose to work on.
Many law school graduates start out working prosecution cases, and later cross over. Private practice criminal defense pays well, if you are good. And working for the prosecutor's office first gives you an inside window to how your future "Enemy" thinks and operates.
Mental health law is important, and I commend you for your interest in it!
Kim
Amber Lee
Tax Associate
92
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Amber’s Answer
Hi Abigail,
I'm not a defense attorney, but I can see where you're coming from. I think public opinion about defense work is unfortunately negative--people tend to have an adverse reaction to hearing about attorneys defending who they perceive to be the more "unsavory" characters in society. But what people often don't realize is the government carries the burden of proof in a criminal case, and they have the burden of proving every single element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. This is an extremely high standard, and it basically means the government has to convince the jury there is no common sense doubt as to the defendant's guilt. One shred of doubt will lead to the collapse of the prosecution's case. Said another way, if a defendant is acquitted, it's because the government failed to prove one or more elements of the crime. It doesn't mean the defendant is innocent, it just means the defendant is not guilty with respect to the crime charged.
This is super important because--as Kim mentioned above--everyone is entitled to a fair trial, and this is a constitutionally protected right. We can't be violating due process and sending innocent people to prison willy-nilly. Additionally, the American legal system is built on an adversarial system, so the the legal system only works if both sides do their best to prosecute or defend the case.
You mentioned you care about mental health issues--a lot of folks fall into a life of crime because they are mentally unwell and their circumstances unfortunately force them into a vicious cycle of homelessness and violence. I am not suggesting people should be given a free pass just because they struggle with mental health, but I just wanted to offer something for you to consider, which I hope would lead you to think of defense work from a more compassionate angle: what if these folks were so mentally unwell they could not even understand the nature of their actions? To give an extreme example, what if they killed someone but they could not appreciate their action was wrong? In circumstances like this, it would be the defense attorney's job to argue their client suffered from a severe mental defect and therefore should not be convicted of the crime.
Defense work is tough because of the moral dilemma you face when defending someone you know is guilty. But you need to remember that for the criminal and legal justice to work as intended, we need defense attorneys who can do their job competently, ethically, and with compassion despite their own personal moral misgivings about defending a criminal.
I'm not a defense attorney, but I can see where you're coming from. I think public opinion about defense work is unfortunately negative--people tend to have an adverse reaction to hearing about attorneys defending who they perceive to be the more "unsavory" characters in society. But what people often don't realize is the government carries the burden of proof in a criminal case, and they have the burden of proving every single element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. This is an extremely high standard, and it basically means the government has to convince the jury there is no common sense doubt as to the defendant's guilt. One shred of doubt will lead to the collapse of the prosecution's case. Said another way, if a defendant is acquitted, it's because the government failed to prove one or more elements of the crime. It doesn't mean the defendant is innocent, it just means the defendant is not guilty with respect to the crime charged.
This is super important because--as Kim mentioned above--everyone is entitled to a fair trial, and this is a constitutionally protected right. We can't be violating due process and sending innocent people to prison willy-nilly. Additionally, the American legal system is built on an adversarial system, so the the legal system only works if both sides do their best to prosecute or defend the case.
You mentioned you care about mental health issues--a lot of folks fall into a life of crime because they are mentally unwell and their circumstances unfortunately force them into a vicious cycle of homelessness and violence. I am not suggesting people should be given a free pass just because they struggle with mental health, but I just wanted to offer something for you to consider, which I hope would lead you to think of defense work from a more compassionate angle: what if these folks were so mentally unwell they could not even understand the nature of their actions? To give an extreme example, what if they killed someone but they could not appreciate their action was wrong? In circumstances like this, it would be the defense attorney's job to argue their client suffered from a severe mental defect and therefore should not be convicted of the crime.
Defense work is tough because of the moral dilemma you face when defending someone you know is guilty. But you need to remember that for the criminal and legal justice to work as intended, we need defense attorneys who can do their job competently, ethically, and with compassion despite their own personal moral misgivings about defending a criminal.