News & Media

SEEKING JUSTICE

In motion pictures and in the news media, the term “bringing someone to justice” has morphed into a meaning that has very little to do with the word “justice”.

When people use that phrase in today’s world, they usually mean arresting a person and bringing them in to be punished. For example, “Let’s bring him to justice and hang him!”

To me, justice means much more than that. It also means finding someone NOT guilty if the prosecution cannot meet the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Letting the innocent go free is justice, too.

Justice also means suppressing the use of evidence in court if the police illegally obtain it. It also means suppressing the use of a confession if the defendant’s words are illegally obtained.

If a person is convicted, justice means that he or she not be convicted of a more serious crime than was actually committed. It further means that the sentence not be too harsh.

Justice does not mean giving the accused a trial. It means a FAIR trial. The right to have competent counsel and an impartial jury are extremely important aspects of the real concept of justice.

I have been defending people in the criminal courts for 31 years. I have seen my share of justice and I have fought injustice every time I saw it happening. Even after all this time and experience, I am still an idealist.