The William Blackstone Ratio

On Thursday in my Constitutional Law class, we discussed the rights of the criminally accused, specifically the role of public defenders in society. We read and talked about the amazing case of Gideon v. Wainwright, which solidified the necessity and constitutional right of the criminally accused to a public defender.

I've never wanted to be a public defender or a defense attorney because I don't think lawyers should be trying to get guilty people absolved of their crimes. I believe in the death penalty and really think all child molesters, rapists, and murderers should be shot on site with a shotgun. I'm really tough on crime so the idea of defending the scum of the earth never interested me. I have considered becoming a prosecutor because putting people in jail would be something I could do.

In class, we had a group discussion on the important roles that public defenders have. When I commented that I could never defend the guilty, one lady in my class passed along a conversation she had with a public defender. This lawyer said that he didn't try to get the accused off, he only tried to make sure the justice system was fair to the person. When the lady related the story, it hit me: while my criminal justice may be different than the laws of the United States, our system is set up where everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I am committed to fairness and I do believe that all who are accused should get what is deserved to them, nothing more and nothing less. I am now interested in becoming a public defender to help the accused through the legal system, making sure each person gets their appropriate punishment.

As I talked to my professor, he said that prosecutors don't really work with people. They see a case on paper and try to get the harshest sentence possible. Public defenders, on the other hand, work with people everyday. Since I like working with people, I think I would like helping those who can't afford big shot lawyers (especially those that only speak Spanish).

One other reason a public defender job interests me is that I would be able to get a job anywhere Brian would want to move. If he follows me to law school, I will follow him after law school.

I read this article on Yahoo! and it really struck me. Here's a guy who was wrongly accused in China and he's wasted some of his life in jail because of a bad criminal justice system. He's a reason I could be a public defender.