Defense attorneys....

[bicker]

No, not at all. What makes you say that?

 

[chobie]

ok, I was going to post that defense attorneys are in it for the money, because their job is to defend. Then I realized this was too deep for me and my innocent remark!!! So my response is "Who really knows why we do what we do?"

Umm, public defenders only make about as much money as social workers and school teachers.

I beleive in our system of justice. It's not always perfect, but as Bicker said it's what separates us from the the barbarians.

 

[rigs32]

DA= district attorney, so I think a less confusing acronym for defense attorney should be DefA.

Trying to get a confession tossed out is NOT going above and beyond it is the atty's job. They may very well know it will stay in, but not trying to get it out will have any conviction overturned for insufficient representation. One of the things many people don't realize is that there is sometimes motions and what not are done for proving they were done, not because you expect to win the motion.

Also, it's easy to say someone is guilty. Unless you were there and saw it first hand, even a confession isn't "proof" as the cops could have coerced the confession. Is it really worth the harshness of the system some of you envision to ensure that some criminals get locked away but also puts many innocents in jail for life who happen to be unable to afford an attorney? Or who get railroaded cause their atty thought the were guilty and did the bare minimum?

 

[RadioNate]

but there is a HUGE difference in defending an innocent accused and a confessed person, what I find horrific is the defense attorney's in this case are LOOKING for way for Couey's confession to be INADMISSABLE.....


that is just horrible......plain and simple....

that's their job. It is the process this country has set up. And if they are public defenders (I admit to knowing NOTHING about this case) they have no choice.

Defense attorneys have long stated that they believe in the system and that they are there to uphold the system. Without someone to protect the right of the accused who knows how many innocents would go to prison. Our court system is designed under the premise that it is better that an occasional guitly go free than an innocent be convicted.

no "bank roll" but between the house and family we could definitely afford to hire someone....but then I choose to abide by the law...and while, yes there are "some" wrongly accused.....well, whatever, its kind of...irrelevant.

Irrelevant? that's IS the entire point.

Things on this board never fail to amaze me. I just I shouldn't be suprised that people know so little about how our criminal justice system works or about our 'real' constitutional rights.

 

[lillygator]

you are right....sometimes my temper just gets the best of me and no I shouldn't be convicting him. I don't know, it's a sad sick case. He is a sexual offender....who was not living where he was supposed. A girl ended up dead and buried at his location. Ironic? Maybe someone set him up. It's not for me to decide.

 

[RadioNate]

you are right....sometimes my temper just gets the best of me and no I shouldn't be convicting him. I don't know, it's a sad sick case. He is a sexual offender....who was not living where he was supposed. A girl ended up dead and buried at his location. Ironic? Maybe someone set him up. It's not for me to decide.

Right but your anger shouldn't be directed at the defense, it isn't their fault that the police and parole officers responsible for knowing his location didn't do their jobs.

The Megan's Law system is flawed and we won't invest the money and resources to keep up with these people. People don't register and don't keep up with it and no one checks up on them because there are few people assigned to watch the many. They just can't get to it all.

There are so many issues at play as to how the system failed but none of that have anything to do with the defense attorneys. Their entire job is to make sure that he gets a fair trial and that the law is/was followed.

They are legal processes and procedures that need to be followed. The DefA HAS to ask for the confession to be thrown out. Because if he doesn't and there is an appeal they could throw out the verdict because the DefA didn't exhaust all his options. They also have to make sure that the confession wasn't coerced.

Defense attorneys are in place so angry people don't take matters into their own hands. That's what makes us different than the murders and other criminals.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

What's ironic LLP - I was just going to go the whole dr route....I work for a hospital although not clinical but even with a "vow" I think it would be hard to save certain individuals.....especially with the judicial system the way it us.

no "bank roll" but between the house and family we could definitely afford to hire someone....but then I choose to abide by the law...and while, yes there are "some" wrongly accused.....well, whatever, its kind of...irrelevant.

Note: IF you are EVER in a position to withhold treatment from certain individuals b/c you feel the need to take the law in your own hands--you would be committing a crime. And you would probably be hoping that your defense attorney is doing his or her darnest to get you off the hook.

Your statement indicates that in the right circumstnace you would not choose to abide by the law.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

you are right....sometimes my temper just gets the best of me and no I shouldn't be convicting him. I don't know, it's a sad sick case. He is a sexual offender....who was not living where he was supposed. A girl ended up dead and buried at his location. Ironic? Maybe someone set him up. It's not for me to decide.

He just may be guilty, but if his defense didn't do a good job trying to defend him, any conviction could be thrown out.

If he's guilty--we want him prosecuted correctly without his constitutional rights being violated.

The only thing than the present case that would be worse for the parents--would be for him to have his conviction overturned later on.

 

[Teejay32]

My father was a police officer when he was sued by a murderer for violating his civil rights. "No kidding", you'd think, but the suit had merit and my father was represented by counsel...and he went on to become an attorney himself after retiring from the police force. He did handle criminal defense at times and had plenty of "guilty" clients, but mostly like Ub_Iwerks said, people being charged for crimes out of proportion to what they actually did.

So preparing a defense is crucial to the justice system. Granted. What that has to do with trying to disallow a confession of someone who led police to a child's dead body, I don't know. That is an act of desperation on the part of attorneys that we can all probably live without.

 

[bicker]

He is a sexual offender....who was not living where he was supposed.

So blame him.