The Perils of law
Long time back I watched a movie called Legal Eagles. Like many movies that I enjoyed, I only remember the fact that i liked it a lot, and precious few further details. After watching it I got hooked on the idea of becoming a lawyer, and even encouraged my friend’s elder brother who was doing his O/Ls then to watch it bc he was keen on law (at the time I was about 6, and he was about 16. About 15 years later the two of us became colleagues in the same research institute, tiny tiny Colombo). Anyhow, I was determined to defend the innocent and damn the guilty, it all sounded very glamorous. But my family was critical of the idea, and effectively quelled my tender hopes. Aachchi would frown and shake her head saying lawyers are “boru karayas” who are out to get your wallet, others would tell me that being a lawyer makes it difficult to sleep at night. I didn’t quite understand this, and firmly believed that there was nothing that couldn’t be solved by some Piriton and musawada. Nonetheless the idea drifted away and became one with many other faded dreams (see The Job Hunt).
A couple of years ago I was thinking about career options and law crossed my mind bc one of my favourite teachers had done the same undergrad course as I, and then did a law conversion degree and is now a hotshot London lawyer. The profession seemed very appealing again, I’ve always enjoyed logical argument and i’d imagine it to be an excellent intellectual challenge. You’d have to construct a watertight logical argument, and defend it against another man’s own effort at the same. May the best man/woman win. It’s like a sport, a battle almost, sounds excellent. Throw in the bonus of helping those wrongly accused and handing out justice to those who deserve punishment. Of course this refers mainly to criminal law, I guess other forms of law won’t be as exciting.
Unfortunately there’s a hitch. The problem would arise when you have to defend somebody that you know is guilty. Everybody deserves a fair trial, that includes those who are guilty. Say for instance a rapist asks for your services, do you defend him wholeheartedly with the possibility of getting him back on the streets on a legal loophole, or do you not give it your best and thereby not allow him a fair trial? It’s a dilemma. I was at a dinner once where a doctor asked a lawyer how he can bring himself to defend a man who he knows to be guilty. The lawyer replied, “machan, if your worst enemy comes to you in terrible pain, would you not try to cure him?” That makes sense I think. For the legal system to work you need to have lawyers defending the guilty, if there was no assurance of a fair trial for both parties the legal system would lose its validity. Some might argue that those who are guilty of such offences do not deserve a free trial. But, how can we be sure they are guilty unless they go through a legal process and all evidence is put forward clearly? Innocent until proven guilty. And you cannot prove their guilt without due legal process. Due legal process requires a fair trial, therefore everyone deserves a fair trial.
Being a criminal lawyer is a morally difficult thing to do, but someone’s got to do it. I don’t think I have the moral courage to do it. I don’t think I could sleep at night knowing I have helped a killer/rapist/thief get back on the streets to do his thing. And I don’t know whether I should be in awe of those who do defend these ppl or whether I should lose all respect for them.
ahh LAW: I wanted to become a lawyer or politician too..and like your’s my family was very much against it,interestingly they also gave me the same arguments saying that lawyers make a life out of lies etc etc…oh well I guess maths is a whole different area but it is still logical argument :s…
Comment by Savi — February 27, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
Once again the pedant in me rears its ugly head, as both mater and pater are lawyers and younger bro is in the process of becoming one so I feel qualified to inflict my opinion on your ass.
When a lawyer defends someone, if he/she does his/her job right, then ethically you cannot plead a man/woman/child guilty/not guilty if you don’t believe them to be. For instance, if you go to my Mum after killing your darling and make it look like Siripala did it and confess to that then she can’t/wont make out that Siri did it. She will have to plead that you did it. Maybe she can plead that you did it in a fit of passion or something, but no ethical lawyer would enter a plea if they did not believe it to be the truth. If the client asks you to do otherwise then it would be unethical for you to do so and you are within your rights to say you will not handle the case, probably why lawyers insist on a consultation before accepting a case. At the same time, a lawyer cannot refuse a case because he/she cannot win, only if their is a conflict between what the client wants done and what they want to do. Like the example.
Sadly, it is unethical lawyers who have given rise to the “boru kaaraya” stereotype.
At the same time lawyers deal with some fucked up shit. Probably why there is no limit to the fees you can charge for criminal law cases?
Comment by Curious Yellow — February 27, 2006 @ 6:02 pm
Dhana - agreed, but, what about lawyers who get a guilty man off the hook by threading through loopholes in the legal framework? I mean, in the interest of the client it does make sense to look for the best way for him to win the case, and a loophole may well be that way. Does that make the lawyer unethical or just one who is doing his best for the client’s fair trial?
Comment by ddm — February 27, 2006 @ 6:17 pm
Don’t you just love the sage advice of Aachchi’s everywhere? While I was (fleetingly) mulling over the idea of heading into law mine told me that ‘although law is a noble calling it’s a dirty business.’
Comment by rastiadu karaya — February 27, 2006 @ 7:10 pm
Well, do you mean like OJ?
mine once told me that if I didn’t drink my milk at night a ghost would come and take me away 
I guess it’s proof the system works no? Even if a 1000 guilty go free the innocent shouldn’t be punished I guess
Rastiadu karaya, you’re right
Comment by Curious Yellow — February 27, 2006 @ 8:24 pm
I wanted to become a lawyer too when I was small. The idea was given to me by my teacher because she said I would always answer back to her
Don’t know if its a good thing or if I really did so with her. But again the thought vanished when my parents said “you won’t be able to sleep at nite and etc.”
Well back then i had an ambition, now I’m clueless on what to do
Comment by Roshi — February 28, 2006 @ 1:45 pm
Sorry about the spaminator roshi, i think it’s bc of your liberal use of smileys..Looks like smileys are frowned upon
Comment by ddm — February 28, 2006 @ 1:48 pm
how ppl can spam with smileys i wonder?
Comment by Roshi — February 28, 2006 @ 4:11 pm
I never wanted to be a lawyer, but the part that bugs me the most is that no one would have tried to talk me out of it.
What we have learned today: Criminal law isn’t for the faint hearted.
Some people are happier sitting behind a desk doing paperwork so they can call themselves lawyers; they secretly love the attention that comes with lawyer jokes.
Comment by prose — February 28, 2006 @ 4:56 pm