The Felony Attorney And His Responsibility To The Client

There is a great deal of scorn and misunderstanding when it comes to the felony attorney in the United States

. As defined in no less than the U.S. Constitution, it is such a lawyer's responsibility to provide assistance of counsel to his or her client. Of course, this leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Some people have a problem with interpreting this to mean that such a professional should defend and attempt to get known criminals off the hook. This leaves ethical young lawyers in a quandary. What are their responsibilities? Do they owe their client, or do they owe some higher cause of social justice?

The Supreme Court

Part of the reason that the responsibilities of the felony attorney are so vague is that the judges who sit on the Supreme Court have never defended a client in their life. Not a single one. This means that the very people in charge of interpreting and defining those responsibilities have no experience on the defendant's side of the courtroom. It's easy to see why this could be a problem, but it is one overlooked by the vast majority of legal experts. Defending someone being tried by the State entails a lot more than simply being a counterpoint to the prosecution. It means fighting for discovery. It means begging the judge for mercy on behalf of the client. It means conducting investigations with little help from the police and little money. It is, in many ways, a thankless job.

Effective Counsel

It is written in the law that a defendant is entitled to effective counsel. While it takes little for a defendant to demand a new attorney (provided that he is paying for it), opinions differ on what "effective counsel" really entails. Certainly, if you ask the people in charge of the justice system from the prosecutorial perspective, it entails little more than showing up to court. If you ask convicted felons, you're likely to hear that a felony attorney has only provided effective counsel if it resulted in acquittal. Ask a group of ten defense lawyers, and you'll probably get ten different answers.

Disregarding Conscience

This is the one area where many a felony attorney has found a difficult test. It has led countless people to leave the profession altogether. But it essential that anyone involved in defending criminals for a living be able to put aside their personal beliefs about good and evil and work only for the justice of the system. It is a lawyer's business to do everything in their power to help their client's case, even if that would mean putting someone they know is guilty back on the street. Is it a pretty situation? Not always, but it is the only way our justice system can work.

by: Ace Abbey

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