Faith and the Criminal Law Business

I am a Christian. My profession is investigating criminal cases on behalf of the defense. Several friends have asked me how I reconcile my beliefs and value system with work that many perceive as helping people avoid responsibility for criminal acts. The Ten Commandments prohibit stealing, killing and adultery; but they also tell us in no unertain terms how important a fair justice system is: we are forbidden to give false testimony. The Bible instructs us to be fair, to protect those who are persecuted, and to respect authority. All we undertake should be done in such a way as to glorify God. Being a Christian means that I value truth, honesty, fairness...all the things our justice system is designed to encourage and protect. Protecting freedom through justice is anything but incompatible with the Christian faith.

Criminal defense is portrayed as irresponsible profiteering by the media, and so many people have bought in to this perception that they forget what makes America the greatest country on earth: freedom through commitment to justice. Justice doesn't just happen. And it doesn't mean locking up every person accused by the government of breaking the rules. We are so used to trying people in the press that we often forget that the press is in the business of selling, which trumps any consideration of fairness or completeness. The public wants to read the quick and dirty and close the paper or website with a "final answer." What is "Christian" about condemning someone without a trial, and without all the facts? What is "Christian" about wanting people to face criminal charges without full disclosure of the evidence? What is "Christian" about jumping on the bandwagon with the mindless masses who applaud wrongful convictions, based on media hype, inaccurate reporting, fabricated evidence and lies - only to say "oh, we're sorry" when the facts finally come out? Oh, that doesn't happen, you say? Check out http://www.theinnocenceproject.com/, and assert, with a straight face, that it doesn't.

Justice is an adversarial process that we must protect jealously, zealously, continuously. I believe in personal responsibility, but I also believe in societal responsibility. We have a responsibility to uphold our collective promise to ourselves to regard everyone as innocent until proven guilty. Law enforcement has a responsibility to investigate thoroughly, fairly and expeditiously. Victims and witnesses have a responsibility to cooperate and be truthful with law enforcement. Prosecutors have a responsibility to seek the truth. Judges have a responsibility to ensure that trials are conducted fairly. Jurors have a responsibility to follow the law and render a fair verdict. And the defense team has a responsibility to ensure that the government proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and a responsibility to insist on the charges being reduced or dropped if they can't. The absence of any one of these elements throws the entire system off balance. Justice cannot survive without the adversarial system we take for granted. And for the system to be adversarial, the protections we have given ourselves must be applied equally to all defendants, in all cases. When the government brings its power to bear on an individual in a criminal case, his defense team must ensure that his rights are protected. This duty does not put the defense team at odds with justice. Rather, it puts us at odds with injustice. Being at odds with injustice should be the goal of all players in the system, but this isn't always the case - and when it isn't, the other players in the system must fight to bring the system back into balance and see that justice is done.

Members of the defense team can abuse the system as readily as any other participant in the justice system, and it is just as important for law enforcement and prosecutors to jealously guard the rights of victims and society as it is for the defense to guard the rights of the accused. Again, the adversarial nature of our system helps to ensure that abuses don't succeed in undermining the system as a whole. If every player in the system does his job honestly, diligently and competently, the system works. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world, and like it or not, it is a manifestation of the Christian values that our founding fathers weaved into the fabric of our nation. Yes, I am a Christian Criminal Defense Investigator, and yes, it all fits together beautifully.