My little pro bono criminal case was heard today and I can safely say it wasn't my best work. For starters, I should have prepared my written mitigation a lot sooner than working on it till 4.30am last night.
When I'd first met my client after being assigned the case, I was convinced that I would be able to write a powerful mitigation for him to show the court how he was a victim of his circumstances and had strayed into crime by mixing with the wrong kinds of people. I completely believed in my client, that he meant what he said when he wanted to change and was remorseful for what he had done. But when I finally got down to writing the piece, I wasn't so sure anymore. At the end of the day, being poor isn't an excuse to be a thief, especially when the proceeds weren't going towards helping your family but being spent on yourself.
As I tried to draft the piece, I felt my heart sink more and more as the mitigation just sounded weak to me. I tried to cover my angles and think around the situation, hoping to camoflauge my client's bad deeds with redeeming traits but they were scarce to begin with.
Today at the hearing, I feel like I didn't try hard enough. A part of me felt that I had already judged my client and limited my mitigation to a sentence that I thought would be appropriate for someone with his background. And when we were before the Judge, even though I had tried to put my best case forward, I felt like the Judge saw right through it and sentenced him based on what I was secretly thinking he deserved.
I felt like a crummy lawyer after that. Like I didn't do my job properly to get my client as light a sentence as possible. But as NG said, in the end, the client did get the "right" punishment. And it was supposed to be part of the oath that I took when I was called to the bar that I was there to assist the court in the pursuit of justice.
Its kind of reminded me of that question I always get when I'm at a dinner party with older folks and they love to ask whether I could sleep at night after successfully defending an axe murderer. In all honesty, I don't know if I can answer that question.
I knew what the policy considerations were for today's hearing and even knew that my client was not going to get of easy. Secretly though, I still think I feel safer knowing that he's being sent for reformative training rather than being let off with a stern warning.
When I'd first met my client after being assigned the case, I was convinced that I would be able to write a powerful mitigation for him to show the court how he was a victim of his circumstances and had strayed into crime by mixing with the wrong kinds of people. I completely believed in my client, that he meant what he said when he wanted to change and was remorseful for what he had done. But when I finally got down to writing the piece, I wasn't so sure anymore. At the end of the day, being poor isn't an excuse to be a thief, especially when the proceeds weren't going towards helping your family but being spent on yourself.
As I tried to draft the piece, I felt my heart sink more and more as the mitigation just sounded weak to me. I tried to cover my angles and think around the situation, hoping to camoflauge my client's bad deeds with redeeming traits but they were scarce to begin with.
Today at the hearing, I feel like I didn't try hard enough. A part of me felt that I had already judged my client and limited my mitigation to a sentence that I thought would be appropriate for someone with his background. And when we were before the Judge, even though I had tried to put my best case forward, I felt like the Judge saw right through it and sentenced him based on what I was secretly thinking he deserved.
I felt like a crummy lawyer after that. Like I didn't do my job properly to get my client as light a sentence as possible. But as NG said, in the end, the client did get the "right" punishment. And it was supposed to be part of the oath that I took when I was called to the bar that I was there to assist the court in the pursuit of justice.
Its kind of reminded me of that question I always get when I'm at a dinner party with older folks and they love to ask whether I could sleep at night after successfully defending an axe murderer. In all honesty, I don't know if I can answer that question.
I knew what the policy considerations were for today's hearing and even knew that my client was not going to get of easy. Secretly though, I still think I feel safer knowing that he's being sent for reformative training rather than being let off with a stern warning.
1 comment:
Hey there! I found your site via statcounter, I noticed I had visitors coming from your blog.
Thanks for the mention! But, you know, comment sometimes. Because, if not for my early morning boredom, I never would have found your blog.
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