“We, as criminal defense lawyers, are forced to deal with some of the lowest people on earth, people who have no sense of right and wrong, people who will lie in court to get what they want, people who do not care who gets hurt in the process. It is our job- our sworn duty- as criminal defense lawyers, to protect our clients from those people.” By Cynthia Roseberry
How can you defend THOSE people? What if they are guilty? How do you sleep at night? Are you just doing this until you can get a job as a real lawyer?
These are just a few of the protests veiled as innocent inquiry that I have to dodge or confront every day. The assault on my person, my reputation, and my profession exists simply because I have chosen to do one of the most important tasks that a lawyer can do. My job is to defend the rights of the accused and to ensure that the integrity of the Constitution is not compromised by those in power.
I am a public defender by choice. There is no contract in dispute when I go into the courtroom. There are no damages to be awarded and no property disputes to be settled. When I go into a courtroom there is only liberty, freedom, and life at stake. And for me that is more than enough.
As unpopular as my clients may be, and as controversial as the cases are, I know I am not alone. I share my honorable and noble profession with patriotic heroes such as John Adams and Abraham Lincoln. And for that I do not apologize.
My name is Ann and I will take you through the criminal justice system through the eyes of a public defender. We will go to court with some of the most undesirable people. We will take many trips to the prison. We will be antagonized by the prosecution and harassed by the public. We will suffer the agony of defeat and the joys of acquittal. There is no clear line that delineates the good guys from the bad guys in our great but fallible system.
So come…. Laugh with me, cry with me, proselytize and complain with me as we experience “justice” together.
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