Moving From Hapless to Hapful with the Problem Defendant (original) (raw)

Trial consultants and most attorneys are often perceived to be the agents of defendants who are wealthy and able to afford their services. A common accusation is that most trial consultants, and the large law firms that specialize in litigation work, promote the adversarial success of people and organizations already in positions of power and influence. Still, there are many pro bono efforts of trial consultants and law firms, as well as efforts of public defenders and court-appointed counsel, to aid individuals who may fairly be considered lower class in a country that avidly avoids class labels. The Emma Lazarus poem engraved at the base of Statue of Liberty invites the tired, the poor, the huddled masses, and the wretched to the nation's shores. With much less grace, the tired, poor, and wretched of our society often make their way to the offices of attorneys who seek to defend them in the face of allegations for offenses that are themselves the products of discrimination, undeniable societal schisms, and living conditions and subcultures that poison and stigmatize. We have come to think of these defendants as hapless and unfortunate recipients of social injustice. The broad scope of social injustice is difficult to change. However,

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