ACT pledge 'racist & inhumane'

[harm_less]

I am what? Argue the post, not the poster.

I think anyone who practices as a defence lawyer should do so from a strong ethical and moral position. So if that person sees something they see as corrupt they should have the courage to do something about it, not worry about their own self interest.

Hmmmn, I thought ethics and moral would have to be a runner when defending most of the clients he would get? They are trying to get someone off or a reduced sentence (including Home Detention). Not judging the morals or ethics of the case.

I would suggest that ethics and morals for a criminal defence lawyer have more to do with working to the finer points of law than actually doing what is considered as socially 'right'. Years ago I heard a criminal defence lawyer (Bungay I think) explaining that his job was to tease out the details of incriminating evidence to find that one element of doubt. The measure of guilt is for it to be 'beyond reasonable doubt' so that is the angle a criminal defence lawyer focusses on.

Bungay (if that's who it was) was explaining how he could work to gain a not guilty result for the absolute low lifes his job involved defending. Essentially by making his job into a challenge to best gain from the legal system he could divorce himself from the right or wrong in protecting bad people.

The moral standpoint in this discussion is more aligned with choosing to do that job on reduced income potential in the legal aid system and defending those who don't have the financial means to pay for it rather than chasing the more lucrative clients with drug or corporate funds for a lawyer to mine.