... well, I agree with this, Peter:

>> No, the best are not committed to one side, they are committed to the system.

It IS necessary to be committed to the system, whichever side you represent, to do so effectively. But, within that context, I still think the best criminal law attorneys are those who are philosophically committed to either prosecution or defense work. It was not for no reason that the movie about Tony Serra was called "True Believer" (however much they butchered the truth in making the movie.

>> The Prosecutors who scare me the most the ones who actually
>> believe that they represent good and I represent evil.

The prosecutors who scared me the most (both when I was one myself and after I moved to the defense table) are the ones who forget that they are SUPPOSED to represent good and adopt a win-at-all-costs attitude, regardless of the worthiness of their cases.

Which is not to say that I think defense attorneys necessarily represent "evil". Most criminal defendants are more stupid than evil (at least, it's mostly the stupid ones who get caught! <g>). I have, however, personally prosecuted a few defendants who I thought were evil people and am aware of many others (no need to post details here, but I'm sure we could all think of some examples).

YET, even they deserve the best possible defense. And I respect the defense attorneys who can provide a vigorous defense for even the most despicable of clients. ----- jim o\-S