by Paul Mawn on 07/10/19
Based on the facts that are
presently out there, I would not want to defend Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, if push came to shove, I know that I could
represent him, and represent him effectively.
I know this because I have defended
all kinds of people over the years.
Many were good people who made a few mistakes, but some were career
criminals hardwired to engage in anti-social behavior. I
have never lost sleep worrying about the character of the person I was
representing. Instead, I have trained
myself to ignore the occasional judgmental thought that crosses my mind by
keeping focused on the task of defending my client.
Defending a client means doing
everything I can to protect my client at all costs, at all stages of the case. I protect his or her presumption of innocence,
I protect my client’s Constitutional rights to a fair trial and, when the case goes to trial,
I fight to make it is difficult as possible for the state to prove each element
of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. That
will be my job so long as I participate in an adversary system of justice under
a constitution that has enshrined the protection of individual liberties. It is not a perfect system of justice by any
means, but is happens to be better than any other system of justice invented by
mankind.
I truly believe that when lawyers
put on a zealous defense, even for a Jeffrey Epstein, they are protecting
everyone’s constitutional rights. This
may seem corny or even naïve, but I truly believe that if skilled attorneys
were unwilling to go all-out to defend the Jeffrey Epsteins of the world, then
we would live in a world in which the severity of the charges would determine
the likelihood of conviction; in which the media, and not our court system,
would be the final arbiter of justice. That is
not a world I want to live in.
