The paradox of the warrior

In a 2013 Pew Research Center study of perceived contribution to society, lawyers hit rock bottom on the list of professions, with only 18% of the population considering lawyers to contribute “a lot” to society. Soldiers, however, were at the top of the list with a whopping 78% vote of confidence.

It got me to wondering why “fighting for freedom” with bullets is thought to be so much more important to our society than “fighting for freedom” in courtrooms.

In 1787, a Constitutional Convention was assembled among founding fathers of our country (mostly lawyers); ratification of this document could not happen without the addition of a Bill of Rights that presented clear limitations on governmental intrusion into our lives.

Now it’s one thing to have a document hanging in the Smithsonian Museum reciting an intent to preserve freedoms, it is quite another to preserve those freedoms on a daily basis. Who acts as the watchdogs of those freedoms? Lawyers. Who ensures that everyone accused of a crime is entitled to due process, to a jury trial, and that the evidence against them was not gained through an unlawful intrusion into their private homes? Lawyers. Specifically, criminal defense lawyers.

Every time a criminal defense lawyer defends someone in court, they are fulfilling a crucial role in our country, the role of Constitutional watchdog and protector. Their role is to protect not only their client’s constitutional rights, but yours and mine too.