Prosecutors Not Playing Nice:

Instead of whining (or am I whinging?) about finals, I'll suggest you look at this new Objective Justice group blawg, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. Its editor is seeking some feedback about whether NY prosecutors are acting improperly in their prosecution of Republican Convention protesters. My take: Yeah, the “mistakes” by the prosecutors here look pretty intentional, but intentional or not, this is just another reason why our regime of “law and order” requires good defense attorneys with enough resources to do the investigation to reveal these prosecutorial or police “mistakes.” And speaking of defense attorneys, Arbitrary and Capricious has a great link to a private investigator's take on both prosecutors and defenders. Here's a taste:

There is a general reason why prosecutors are more accepted than defense attorneys. In general, Prosecutors wear the white hats: They stand for law and order; they represent the State; they prosecute the guilty-atleast most of the time; they are public servants; they are on the side of the truth and the angels. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, generally represent defendants guilty of some wrong doing. (Thank the creator for that! Would anyone want to live in a community where most of the defendants were innocent?)

Amen to that. In addition to the great bit Skelly pulled out, the rest of the PI's piece is absolutely worth reading. It helps explain why prosecutors can get away w/more “mistakes” than defenders can and concludes that:

by zealously defending their clients, guilty, innocent, or somewhere in between, [defense attorneys] help preserve a system of justice that only rarely convicts the innocent.

Preach on, brother.

Posted April 13, 2005 09:03 AM | 2L