Reply #40: That's not how it works [View All]

Lawyers don't take the oath, they are governed by the ethics rules of their state Bar Association. One of the major rules is that a lawyer must defend his or her client zealously within the bounds of the law. In English, the lawyer is required to do everything legally possible to help the client. It isn't easy for a lawyer to withdraw from a criminal case, they generally need court permission to do so. The problem is that if a lawyer withdraws, some people, most importantly jurors, may wonder why and unfairly prejudice the case against the defendant.

The system isn't perfect and yes, sometimes guilty people go free, but our system was designed on the premise that it is better to let a guilty man go free than to imprison an innocent one. I don't like the idea of letting someone off, but I have much more trouble with convicting an innocent one. Look at all the people freed thanks to DNA and the Innocence Project