Why do you do it? Why do you represent those people?
The question implies a lifetime of watching television shows and movies – fiction, mostly – where the good guys wear blue, and the bad guys always get locked up.
Occasionally, if an innocent person gets caught up in the criminal courts, our fair and righteous justice system will sort it out and the truth will be told, right? Anyway, if they didn’t do this thing, they probably did something, right?
Do you think that you don’t need to worry if you have nothing to hide? That everyone gets their day in court, and there is equal protection under the law?
People Wouldn’t Be Charged with a Crime Unless They Did It
The judge, either in opening remarks or in jury instructions, will usually tell jurors that the defendant is innocent unless and until the jurors decide the defendant is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
It’s like a “robe of righteousness,” placed around their shoulders until they have been proven guilty.
That’s bull**it.
It’s true. And it is the law.
But it’s not how people think. Most people believe that a police officer – Officer Friendly, for gosh sakes – would never charge a person with a crime unless the person is guilty. Officer Friendly is there to protect us.
If only every citizen took a turn working in a public defender office for a year or two.
Laws would change. Court procedures would change. Police departments would change. Because every citizen might realize that Officer Friendly was just a PR campaign, that police charge innocent people every day, and that we live in a police state where no one is safe – not from criminals, but from the government.
You Don’t Need to Worry If You Have Nothing to Hide
What do you have to worry about if you have nothing to hide?
Plenty.
Crooked cops who will plant drugs in your car? Your girlfriend’s son’s weed that you had no idea was left in the center console? You may not be worried about the things you know, but it’s the things you don’t know that should concern you.
Why is a police officer at your door asking to come into your house? You may think you have nothing to hide, but if a police officer is asking to speak with you or asking to search your property, you’ve got something to worry about.
I tell everyone to never consent to anything. It doesn’t matter if I have nothing to hide – I have constitutional rights, and I understand that, if I don’t insist on them, I will lose them. The courts, police, judges, prosecutors, politicians, and half of our country’s citizens value their security more than their freedoms.
That is why we live in a police state. Use the rights you still have, before we lose them completely.
Cases are “Settled on the Golf Course”
Cases are not “settled on the golf course.”
Judges do not “give deals” to criminal defendants because their defense lawyer plays golf. Prosecutor do not “give deals” to criminal defendants because they are friends with their defense lawyer.
Prosecutors “give deals” to criminal defendants when they don’t think they can win the case at trial, when it is more painful to go to trial than to negotiate, or when it is fair and just to settle or dismiss the case.
If your attorney is playing golf or going out for drinks with your prosecutor, there is nothing wrong with that per the ethics rules, but it may not be a good sign for your case…
Innocent People Will be Protected by the System
Are innocent people protected by the “justice” system?
Sometimes.
We’ve had motions to dismiss granted based on constitutional violations, we’ve persuaded prosecutors to dismiss cases based on our independent investigation, shaky evidence, or other reasons. We’ve gotten acquittals for our clients at trial.
If we had not stepped up to fight for those people, though, would they have gotten their cases dismissed or won their cases at trial?
What happens to the thousands of people in similar situations whose attorneys do not file that motion, research and argue the cases, or fight for their client at trial?
Innocent people are convicted at trial – or plead guilty – every day in America.
“Justice” is What Victims Get in Criminal Court
Do victims get Justice in criminal court?
Rarely, I suspect.
Despite the victim’s bill of rights being incorporated into the SC Constitution and SC law, victims often feel ignored, are not consulted before court, and feel shut out.
Alleged victims do not have a monopoly on the concept of “Justice.” One reason few people feel like they received “Justice” in criminal court is they don’t understand what Justice is.
Justice from a victim’s perspective might look very different than Justice from a defendant’s perspective, and, at best, what both parties will get is a judge who identifies Justice for the victim and Justice for the defendant and “splits the baby” while trying to achieve Justice for all.
Everyone Gets Their “Day in Court”
Does everyone get their “day in court?”
It sounds nice, but it’s not true. In civil cases, most cases will settle before trial – in which case, no one gets their “day in court.”
In criminal cases, the alleged victim might want their “day in court,” but, just as with civil cases, most cases will settle before a trial happens.
In some criminal cases, the defendant may want their “day in court,” but, if all goes well, they will also never get it because their case will be dismissed or resolved favorably before trial.
There’s a “Bad Apple” at the Police Department (or the Prosecutor’s Office)
I looked for that “bad apple” at the police department and couldn’t find him or her.
The misconduct I see in police departments is not a single “bad apple.” It never was. Police misconduct is systemic, and it begins at the top with leadership.
When police have tacit permission to be abusive to certain types of people, to respond violently with unnecessary or excessive force, when leadership doubles down and supports violent officers instead of disciplining and teaching them, and when there are no consequences for misconduct, there will be police abuse.
There is Equal Treatment Under the Law
America’s justice system is the best in the world because we have “equal justice under the law.” It says so right on the US Supreme Court building.
Do we, though?
The Supreme Court itself is now plagued with allegations of bribery and favoritism – if true, it appears that our Supreme Court has been bought and paid for. That doesn’t sound like there’s going to be equal treatment under the law in that building.
Our justice system was designed to benefit white male landowners, and the criminal justice system was, at least in part, designed to protect the good white folk of America against black people.
If an eighteen-year-old black man with dreadlocks is charged with shoplifting in South Carolina, and an eighteen-year-old white man with a nice clean haircut, destined for college and possibly even law school, is charged with shoplifting in South Carolina, and all else is equal, what is the likely outcome for each?
If a forty-year-old black man with dreadlocks is charged with murder during a botched robbery, and a forty-year-old white man is charged with murder during a separate botched robbery, will their likely outcomes be the same?
Is one more likely to get the death penalty? Is either one more likely to have access to a “high-end” criminal defense lawyer? Is one more likely to walk away on probation or with their case dismissed? Is one more likely to receive a greater number of years in prison if convicted?
In general, our criminal justice system in South Carolina favors the white citizens of our state, and it favors the wealthy.
In most cases, there is no equal justice under the law, not at the United States Supreme Court and not here in South Carolina.
Criminal Defense Lawyers in Columbia, SC, and Myrtle Beach, SC
The criminal defense attorneys at the Thompson & Hiller Defense Firm focus exclusively on criminal defense cases in SC. We have obtained dismissals, pre-trial diversion resulting in dismissals, or acquittals following trial in hundreds of criminal cases, and we have a record of proven results.
We accept criminal defense cases in Columbia, SC as well as Myrtle Beach, SC, and the surrounding areas, with offices in both locations to better serve your needs.
If you have been charged with a crime in SC or if you think you may be under investigation, call us now at 843-444-6122 or contact us through our website for a free initial consultation to find out if we can help.
