How can you defend someone you know is guilty?: Representing a Criminal Defendant

First, the role of the defense counsel is not, contrary to popular belief, to "get the Defendant off." The attorney's role is to see that the defendant's rights are protected. In other words, if a defendant is, in fact, guilty, then his or her guilt should be established only in accordance with due process of law. "Due process" is a legal term taken right from the Constitution. The Courts have interpreted this phrase to have three components: an impartial tribunal (judge or jury), a fair trial, and effective assistance of counsel. Take away any one of these components, and the result becomes suspect.

The importance of procedural due process is made apparent when comparing a guilty verdict rendered by a mob and a guilty verdict rendered by a jury. In both instances, the person adjudged guilty may indeed have committed the crime. But the judgment of guilt is not the only consideration. The appearance of an orderly process created to impartially review the evidence is also very important. Without that "rule of law," justice is often lost in the rush to judgment.

Second, no one (other than an eyewitness) knows that a criminal defendant is guilty until there has been either a guilty plea or a conviction following trial. Our law says that until that point, a person is presumed to be innocent. The presumption of innocence is overcome only by a guilty plea - provided it is accepted by a Court as being understandingly made, voluntary, and accurate- or by proof, to the satisfaction of either a judge or a jury, of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The presumption of innocence is a vital part of our law, in spite of the spate of cases in recent years in which defendants have been "tried in the press" long before the real evidence was presented in Court. At the same time, there are the recurring cases in which a supposedly guilty party is finally released from prison after his or her innocence is established. After all, even "eyewitnesses" can make mistakes- or lie. This protection is getting more difficult to uphold, and yet more necessary. Modern police practices and scientific analysis tend to result in high conviction rates, as judges and juries tend not to argue with the results of forensic evidence, whether the source is fingerprints, blood typing, or DNA testing.

Yet that is what trials are all about. How is someone guilty of committing a crime unless there is evidence which would convince a reasonable trier of fact, sitting in a courtroom hearing all the evidence, to determine whether there is enough evidence to convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt? These are not determinations made by reading one article in the local newspaper or by taking the policeman's opinion as the basis of someone's guilt or innocence.

Our legal system has developed over several centuries, and represents the balance between societies' desire to punish wrongdoers and preserve peace, and its desire to promote and protect personal freedoms. Be very careful about assuming someone's guilt before the entry of a verdict or a plea; the rights you protect could be your own.

(c) 1997 by Coupe & Van Allsburg, P.C., a Holland, Michigan law firm providing legal services to the people and businesses of West Michigan.

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