As a result of these points, and the points presented by the other members of my group, we strongly advocate the representation of guilty clients in the court of law, as this is the only way to ensure a fair and just result in trial and therefore the only way that a defendants constitutional and human rights will be able to be upheld to the level they were intended.
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Asimow, M 2006, when the Lawyer knows the client is guilty, Journal of Legal Ethics and Popular Culture, Vol. 3.
D’Amato, A, Eberle, E, J 2010, Three model of legal ethics, North-western university law journal, vol. 73, pp 780-782
McBride, A 2010, Defending the Guilty: Truth and Lies in the Criminal Courtroom, Viking Publishers, New York, America.
Response:
Though the affirmative argument has a few valid points, it fails to address ‘spirit of law’ and ‘legal ethics’ issues. The affirmative stance is more preoccupied with technical and documentation aspects of ‘case law’, but does not answer how a lawyer will ethically resolve the dilemma in question. It argues that a proper representation of the guilty client will help the jury and the judge to fully ascertain facts pertaining to the case, thereby helping them come to correct conclusions. But in reality, the defense counsel doesn’t just serve as a source of information. He/she tries his utmost to bend the will of the jury. (Wendel, 2010) Indeed, the counsel is paid to justify the acts of his client, however insincerely it is pitched and projected in the court of law. The affirmative stance would have us believe that representing the guilty helps due process of law and upholds the virtue of ‘innocent until proven otherwise’. But concerns of due process of law is not for lawyers to get bogged down over. Moreover, ‘innocent until proven otherwise’ might apply to the jury not cognizant of facts but not to the lawyer who is privy to the client’s guilt. (Brown et. al, 2009)
References:
Wendel, W. B. (2010). Lawyers and Fidelity to Law. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Brown, G. A., Fish, M., Gautier, J., & Muoio, M. (2009). The Guantanamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison outside the Law (M. P. Denbeaux & J. Hafetz, Eds.). New York: New York University Press.