Lawyers’ pronouncement not to defend rape accused is wrong
The right to be represented by a lawyer in any criminal case is a fundamental right in every democracy
Being a criminal defense lawyer is no easy task. You have to quickly get immune to the depths of human depravity and just learn to deal with the task at hand which is to zealously defend your client and support the constitution in every single case. Any defense lawyer worth his or her salt will defend any client including such defendants as the accused in the recent Delhi gang rape case, human beings like Hitler or even someone like former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Lawyers are an essential part of any democracy. The right to be represented by a lawyer in any criminal case is a fundamental right in every democracy. The seminal case of Gideon v Wainwright moved the Supreme Court of the US, in 1963, to unanimously rule that the Sixth Amendment of the US constitution entitles indigent criminal defendants a right to a lawyer. Clarence Earl Gideon will forever remain one of America’s most outstanding humans. Wrongly accused of breaking into a pool hall in Panama City, Florida, Gideon was charged with felony. He asked for a lawyer to represent him. The court denied his request. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The Florida Supreme Court denied his petition to overturn his conviction on the grounds that his fundamental rights had been violated since he had not been provided with counsel to represent him.
Gideon was not deterred and steadfastly pursued justice studying law books in prison. He then filed a handwritten petition with the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case and also agreed with him that his fundamental rights were violated. The Court sent the case back for retrial wherein Gideon was easily acquitted when his lawyer took apart the evidence of the actual perpetrators who had set him up. Anthony Lewis’s book about the case, Gideon’s Trumpet, is a must read for anyone seeking inspiration. It is both a celebration of an individual’s triumph against all odds and an affirmation of faith in law, justice and the core principles of a successful democracy. Gideon’s story is also a reminder to us all that people are wrongfully convicted of crimes and that a lawyer is essential to any accused’s defense.
Seeing Indian lawyers on TV proudly and publicly declaring en masse that they will not defend those accused in the Delhi gang rape accused is sad and symbolic of the many things that are so wrong with India - right from the medieval misogynistic mindsets that blame women for cruel and criminal conduct inflicted upon them by men, to the behavior of these lawyers who are being carried away by the sensationalism of the moment and failing to be the voice of reason, law and logic despite their training. They ought to know better.
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First Published:4 Jan 2013, 11:54 AM IST
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