I'm tired of explaining that the Fourth Amendment (eroded thought it may be) is not a technicality. I'm tired of soapboxing when people ask me how I could stand to defend the people I defend. Tired of having to say over and over again, "We, as a society, treat our poor people like shit and then wonder why they're the ones committing, or at the very least, accused of a lot of the crime that goes down."
It's become tedious to debate whether the presumption of innocence actually exists to most juryfolk (I believe it does not). It's gotten old pontificating upon the fact that while most people out there can recite the standard of "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," prospective jurors still state during voir dire that if a defendant has been arrested, then he must have done something wrong.
But mostly, I'm exhausted from explaining to people that by defending the rights of the indigent, I'm defending the rights of everyone.
And when I explain to the naysayers that by defending the rights of the indigent, my cohorts and I are defending the rights of everyone, I find that this is the only story that ever seems to get my point across.
Introducing ourselves to the jury pool prior to selecting a jury:
Prosecutor: Good morning. I'm Attorney Prosecutor and I represent the people of the State.
Defense Attorney: Hi. I'm Saucy Vixen. I also represent the people of the State. I just happen to have one sitting next to me.
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6 comments:
Preach it, Sister!
Love it, and I may steal it. Just warning you.
The key to appearing brilliant is knowing who to steal from and when.
I stole it from someone else. Just here to pass on the love. :D
I've always wanted to use that phrase! Except I was going to say, "I also represent the people, one person at a time." But unfortunately, I've never come across any ADA jackass who says they represent the people.
im using that on tuesday
It's a great line. Unfortunately our A.S.A.'s have never given me the opening. . .though one of them told a judge that because she was a member of the *Judicial Branch*. . .(ack!). Fortunately the judge didn't let her get away with this. Took her two more guesses to get it right though.
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