People are used to defending their best friends with a passion, even in the crimes they have committed, for free. Imagine this case if someone is paid to do so? Thus, defense attorneys are required to zealously represent their clients not only because they are paid to do so, but also because of it their ethical expectation. According to Gottlieb (2018), “z ealous defense, also known as zealous advocacy, is an ethical principle for practitioners of law.” Therefore, when a client contacts an attorney for their services, they must do everything necessary to make sure that their client wins the case, as long as what they are doing does not violate their ethical principles required for the law profession. Subsequently, an attorney cannot prove if their clients are guilty, and they must prove their innocence. The zealous defense will mean that the attorney cannot tell whether or not their client is innocent. In that case, they will maintain their zealous security even if the client is guilty. Gottlieb (2018) goes further to state that a person under the justice system is always innocent until proven guilty. This assumption means that the relationship between the attorney and their client should not lead them to make conclusions about their clients’ connection to the crime. The idea that someone is guilty may sound disconcerting to attorneys, but still, the ethical expectations must be adhered to. Subsequently, what matters is that an attorney might one-day stand trial, and they might be that innocent person, standing trial for the crime they did not genuinely commit and at risk of being assumed guilty by other attorneys they would hire. The primary function of defense attorneys in serving the society is to be their client’s legal advisor and advocate with devotion and courage. According to the American Bar Association (2018), “defense counsel has the difficult task of serving both as officers of the court and as loyal and zealous advocates for their clients.” Therefore, this interpretation of the law is one way in which the defense attorneys serve society. Otherwise, defense attorneys serve communities by being the client’s professional representatives. In these representations, they engage in good faith challenge with the laws or standards. Also, defense attorneys participate in the reform and the improvement of the criminal justice system, which is good for the society because insufficiency of criminal justice understanding leads to injustices to the members of the same society. Subsequently, defense attorneys play significant roles in engaging communities in public service activities, including community service activities and public education, among others. Thus, the defense attorney’s service to the community ranges from anything law to participation in civic leadership. If I were an attorney and my client told me they were guilty, but pleaded not guilty; I will not represent them because allowing the client to provide evidence after pleading not-guilty will mean that I knowingly make them commit perjury. In this case, I will make an application to the judge to allow me to be removed from the case so that a new lawyer is appointed. Otherwise, knowing that my client is guilty without them proving themselves will make me take a step to prevent the state from proving them guilty. For instance, I will request a motion to exclude evidence and cross-examine the witnesses.
References
American Bar Association. (2018). Standards for the defense function. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/standards/DefenseFunctionFourthEdition/
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Gottlieb, M. (2018, August 10). What is zealous defense? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@MichaelGottlieb/what-is-zealous-defense-db301e57884b
