"How Can you Represent the Guilty?"

Recently, that quesion was posed to me, as it frequently is to all criminal defense attorneys. The question presupposes guilt, an assumption which is worthy of its own dialogue. However, for the purposes of this post, I'd be willing to assume that we're talking about a client for whom guilt is undeniable.

Once a client has made the decision to accept responsibility, there's a lot to be said about what factors into deciding what an appropriate punishment is and what sort of punishment (or plea recommendation) is unreasonable. Is there remorse? Is there repentence? Do they have a prior criminal history? What are the family dynamics? Are there young children in the home? Does the client work? Will a conviction for this offense affect their ability to work? What are the feelings of the complaining witness? Who should we consider to be the victim: the individual who was wronged or society as a whole?

These questions may seem abstract in a vacuum, but they quickly become concrete when the client is someone's 18 year-old  daughter, charged with the felony offense of Burglary of a Habitation (2-20yrs potential imprisonment) for stealing an ipod out of her ex-boyfriend's house. The situation is further compounded when we learn that the young girl has no criminal history, dreams of being a nurse, and that the local District Attorney's office has issued a standard policy that probation will not be offered in burglary cases. http://www.kxxv.com/story/15001314/five-men-indicted-on-capital-murder-charges-for-deadly-shootings Suddenly, the need for an advocate is readily apparent.

Aside from the example of the 18 year-old, would-be-nurse, we have to wrestle with whether any given accused citizen can be rehabilitated and become a valuable member of society again. Is there a balance to be found between punishment for punishment's sake and deterrence? Is the application of mercy not particularly relevant when we consider the grace that God has bestowed on we sinners who are redeemed?

"If we are called to serve the lowly and the outcase, who could need our help more than the accused in a criminal trial?...Lawyers do not so much "represent" the guilty as minister to the guilty. We are not so much advocates as companions. If the three crosses on Calvary mean anything, they mena that no one is so repulsive, or so condemned, that he is not entitled to have a companion in his misery, and that none of us - not even the Son of God - is too good to be chosen as the companion." - Jospeh Allegretti, The Lawyer's Calling

With these considerations in mind, the need for representation is apparent. In fact, Justice (*think truth, righteousness*) demands it - and not just representation by an attorney, but by every facet of society that has the capability of speaking into the life of those in need. After all, it is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick (Mark 2:17). And in some way, we are all unhealthy.