Why I Love Being a Criminal Defense Lawyer

How can you represent “those” people? If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that at a party or in a conversation I’d be a rich man. The fact is, “those” people are just like you and me.

Everyone hates lawyers until they need one. I had to laugh when a former Attorney General of the United States said that,”… only the guilty need to invoke their Miranda rights.” He argued that Miranda rights were not needed by the citizens of the United States, that Miranda only protects the criminal element and shields the guilty.

I laughed even harder when he invoked his own Miranda right to remain silent when he suddenly became the focus of a criminal investigation. Suddenly, he found that the government can be overbearing and frightening in its exercise of power against the individual. He found comfort in the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution when he realized the government was attacking HIM and placing enormous pressure on him.

The Constitution protects all of us from government intrusion into our lives. Without it being followed and enforced by us, the criminal defense lawyers, the government would run right over all our liberties and leave us a poorer nation. Some think that it’s judges and legislators who protect the civil liberties of the average citizen. But, it’s not. It’s the criminal defense lawyer who stands ready to fight for each individual charged with wrongdoing by the government.

Unless you think the government is always right, you should applaud every criminal defense lawyer. If you think the police should be able to come into YOUR home without a search warrant then you aren’t going to like criminal defense lawyers. But, if you believe your home is your castle, free from government’s prying eyes and what you do in it is no one’s business but your own, then you want the criminal defense lawyer to make sure every individual’s rights are protected.

I love being a criminal defense lawyer because I love being the guardian of truth, justice, and the American way. I fight for the underdog. I stand up for the unpopular individual. If I don’t, who will? Because I represent “those” people, I and everyone else live in a freer society. So next time you’re at a party, say “thanks” to the criminal defense lawyer who is standing up for you, even if you don’t need him….yet.