As a criminal defense lawyer, it is incredibly appropriate that ten years ago on September 11th, I was waiting for a suppression hearing to begin. The hearing was before Judge James L. Kimbler in Medina County, Ohio. I was asking the Court to suppress the confession of my client — a young man with mental retardation. I intended to argue that because he was especially vulnerable to leading questions and the desire to please people in authority, his confession was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.
Fast-forward to this year, the tenth anniversary of September 11th. Last week I was trying a case in federal court in Tolddo before The Honorable James G. Carr, former Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit. All week, as I argued in Judge Carr’s stately courtroom, I was reminded of all those principles which undergird our criminal justice system: the fact that even someone accused of the most heinous of offenses is entitled to a trial by jury, the fact that the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, that the government must prove each and every element of its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the accused has the right to confront his or her accusers.
Whatever our role, we all work to protect the criminal justice system. And if we criticize the system, it is because we know that it is the finest system ever conceived by humankind — and that its potential for perfection is boundless.
God Bless America.
