You probably know, that I want to be a defence lawyer someday. So yesterday, I researched how it is, that defence lawyers can perform their job effectively, knowing that their client may be guilty. It's an interesting topic and I will give you some of the highlights that I found, so you can better understand how defence lawyers do their job.
First of all, let's remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by the Crown prosecutor. Just because somebody is charged with a crime and the media and Crown say they are guilty, does make it true. Most people tend to forget about this principle and assume that somebody charged with a crime is automatically guilty and that they must prove their innocence. That is not how our justice system works. The most common question that the public asks of defence lawyers, is how they can defend the guilty, when you have to remember, they are really just defending a human being, since we are all innocent until PROVEN to be guilty.
One is considered not guilty until they either plead guilty or the Crown proves their guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the Crown can't prove their guilt, then the person is not guilty, even if they really did commit the crime.
When their is an occassional malfunction in justice system, the headlines of the media seem to blow it out of proportion and do not really devote much or any space or time to majority of cases that proceed smoothly as they are supposed to. Nobody wants to hear about people admitting to their guilt, because that doesnt sell newspapers. People only seem to take notice of the justice system, when it malfunctions, such as giving sentences that are perceived to be too lenient or too harsh.
A defence lawyer's job is to provide the best defense that they can, to a specific person. All humans have the right to be defended and to have their Charter and legal rights protected and upheld. Our justice system, must be fair and everyone is entitled to their rights.
To be a defence lawyer, I believe you must think in terms of proof, not guilt. Did the Crown PROVE that this person is guilty? Is their proof to support their claim?
While researching this, one lawyer said that you get to know your clients as human beings, not as criminals and you come to care about them. These people charged with a crime are scared, people hate them and they are suffering as well and need protection.
Even if the Judge's decision makes sense (from a prosecutor's perspective), when someone is sentenced to prison, it's sad. It's sad for a supportive family see their child go to prison and it's sad because they may have just made a mistake. Sometimes, these people have nobody and the only person to support them is their lawyer.
Most people only think of how the victims of crime feel in this situation but they never consider the feelings and emotions of the defendant and his or her family.
Defence lawyers must beg the Judge to care for their client and to see them as a human being who made bad choices instead of only seeing the bad choices as if they cant change. Typically, defendants have been abused or neglected, come from a background of poverty, some suffer from mental/developmental disabilities and they dont have the same chances or opportunities as we take for granted. Lawyers say they feel the need to represent the needy and the underdog and to help them understand the system and their options and decisions available to them.
If you spare someone from going to prison, they may be able to change their life in a positive way and become a better person through other alternative sentencing options.
Everyone, even the guilty, need a companion, a friend and someone to stand with and for them. The lawyer's job is to force the system to acknowledge that their defendant is not just a social misfit or a criminal, but simply a human being with dreams, hopes and fears. They learn to feel sympathy towards their clients and their situations.
I believe that prison is harmful because it instills pro-criminal attitudes, values and behaviours and individuals may learn to be "a better criminal" through these. I believe prison should be reserved only for the most violent and dangerous individuals and that all other alternatives should be considered before prison. I believe that people can be rehabilitated through treatment. We need to understand what causes crime in a particular person's case, and try to change the environment that led to that crime.
When I go to the law courts and watch trials, I never judge the defendants by thinking of them as guilty before the trial is complete. I think of them as human beings who are innocent. I have had the opportunity to chat with one defendant from a murder trial that I have been observing, and I do not think of him as guilty or a criminal. He has fears, like anybody else, and has expressed these to me.
Since I am a very sympathetic person to all people and do not judge defendants as guilty while the Crown is still presenting evidence and proof, I feel that I would be a good defence lawyer and that is what I aspire to be someday.
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