Imagine that you're lucky enough to know exactly what you want to do when
you grow up. You think you're on the right track and then one day, something
changes your mind forever. That's what happened to Wade Jensen when he decided
to go into criminal defense law.
"The law school was a plan from early on...the plan was to be a prosecutor,"
says Jensen.
At the time, Jensen simply believed that criminals must be punished for
their crimes. "I would read in the paper about rapists receiving what I considered
to be light sentences. So, my main motivation for going into law school was
to become a...prosecutor and up the ante," he explains.
But when Jensen saw the other side of the story, the criminal's side, his
attitude towards crime and punishment changed. Jensen developed an interest
in the police force, but not because he wanted to be a cop; he wanted a glimpse
of the other side. "It was to get a street-level view on justice and crime.
It was ironic that as I went through law school, I wanted to prosecute criminals.
Once I graduated and articled with a defense lawyer, my perspective began
to change."
In the end, Jensen believed in the need for criminal defense and he developed
a compassion for the accused. "Not that I became a bleeding heart by any stretch,
but at the same time it allowed me to look over the fence to see the other
side and gain a certain compassion, or perhaps understanding of what leads
people to involve themselves in some criminal activity."
Jensen says that his own morality is not part of the mix when he is defending
a criminal. He adds that lawyers who allow emotion to enter into the picture
will not do well. "My approach is that my job is not to analyze the morality
behind a person's actions; the issue for me is legal guilt. It's my job to
assess the case against them."
Jensen adds that his success depends on setting his personal views far
aside. "If I couldn't look at it that way, then I certainly wouldn't be able
to perform this job."
This job can be strenuous, says Jensen, especially when you're
working on a high-profile case, such as a murder. Sleepless nights are common,
he says, when the stakes are high. "Your ability to defend and properly cross-examine
witnesses and defend the case is dramatic. The inability to do that can have
dramatic consequences for your client -- literally spending the rest of their
life in jail."
At the end of a day, Jensen can honestly say that he gets a lot of satisfaction
from his job. "It's fascinating work for sure. There's rarely a dull day.
If you enjoy people and you're not particularly judgmental with people, then
it can certainly have its attractions."
Linda Miller never felt particularly sorry for criminals. Instead, her
objective as a criminal lawyer is to ensure that all citizens are treated
equally in the eyes of the law, regardless of their history, sex, race or
beliefs. "As a criminal defense attorney, what you're in effect doing is protecting
the rights of all citizens. [You're] making sure that for every citizen the
same rights exist so that the police can't pick and choose who they're going
to afford certain protections to."
Historically, the court system has not offered the same rights to all citizens
because of certain biases, says Miller. "It's very clear that there has been
incredible discrimination over the years and it would be far worse if it weren't
for criminal defense attorneys who try and prevent it from happening on a
case-by-case basis."
Miller believes that her job is to eliminate these biases. "The court system
has to make sure that no matter who you are, whether you're rich or poor,
or whether you've been in trouble before or not, everyone has the same rights,"
she says.
High stress is part of the package in criminal law. Even if a client isn't
facing the death sentence or life in prison, Miller's defense can have a serious
impact on that person's future. "I think that there's always a huge responsibility,
even for something that's a fairly simple case. Like when you represent a
young person and they're charged with a fairly simple crime. The impact of
that can be there for the rest of their lives," she says.
Miller believes in her ability to help people charged with crimes. If it
weren't for criminal lawyers, she says, the justice system would not look
out for all individuals' rights. Knowing this, she says, is the most satisfying
aspect of criminal law.
"You have the opportunity to try and help somebody. If you weren't there,
the outcome could be significantly worse."
She explains that even if a criminal is found guilty, she can help that
person to go on living in a way that won't destroy him or her. "You really
can help an individual person."