The title "Criminal Defense Attorney" or "Criminal Defense Lawyer" is a misnomer and is sometimes used as a weapon against those who represent the legal interests of the accused. Have you ever heard "how can that lawyer defend him?" or "as a criminal defense lawyer, I could not defend her." Or how about "how can those criminal defense lawyers sleep at night defending those people?"
Well, as a criminal defense lawyer representing the legal interests of criminal defendants on appeal, I have never defended the actions of any of my clients. I am not in favor of and I do not "defend" rape, murder, child molestation, burglary or even shoplifting or jaywalking. I have never claimed on appeal that the crime for which the person was convicted should not be a crime.
But those who could never see themselves as criminal defense lawyers best understand that what "criminal defense lawyers" do is vital to our justice system. The Constitution of the United States requires that the criminally accused receive the effective assistance of counsel. And so does the Ohio Constitution. So if you want to lock someone up for the rest of their lives or "fry" them (for those in favor of the death penalty), you better hope the accused has the effective assistance of counsel or the conviction and/or sentence will not stand up to scrutiny by reviewing courts.
I do not see myself as defending criminals or crimes. What I do as the lawyer for the accused is aggressively assert the legal rights of the accused (be they innocent or guilty). I challenge the State's case. The State builds a wall (their case) and the counsel for the accused tries with all their might to knock it down. Only when the wall is still standing after the accused was afforded the effective assistance of counsel can we know a conviction and/or sentence is "valid."
As a lawyer representing the accused on appeal, trying to knock down walls is my job. I am not going to cop out and claim "I am just doing my job" because I chose this job. This job is an important one. If your calling is to be a prosecutor, go do that. But if your interest is in making sure our legal system is as fair as possible, join the "dark side" and become a "criminal defense lawyer," although that title is a misnomer.
