Taimoor Rana is seasoned criminal defense attorney specializing in DUI related cases. He shares his expert legal opinion here « How Can You Defend Drunk Drivers
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- Most people are outraged about the fact that lawyers defend drunk drivers. But according to most of the lawyers, they don’t defend drunk drivers: they only defend citizens who have been accused of being drunk drivers.
Defending someone who has been accused by the police of a crime, especially when it’s DUI, causes the image of criminal defense attorneys to deteriorate. And no doubt, every defense attorney gets tired of the question that he is asked at every party: “How can you defend guilty people?”
The answer to this question is quite complex, as it involves the issues of possible innocence of the driver, inaccurate or false evidence against the offender, overcharging by the prosecutor, ensuring a fair trial, protection from unfair laws and harsh or illegal punishment.
However, it is the responsibility and the obligation of law enforcement officers to convict the guilty and to make sure they do not convict the innocent.
But the issue is that the defense counsel has no obligation to ascertain or present the truth. According to our system, he must prevent the conviction of the innocent, but, with the exclusion of a voluntary plea of guilty, we also insist that he defend his client whether he is innocent or guilty, as the State has the obligation to present the evidence.
We expect the defense lawyer to protect the offender, without going deeper into the truth whether he is really guilty or not. There are some limits, which the defense counsel must observe but most of the time, defense counsel will cross-examine a prosecution witness, and impeach him if he can, even if he thinks the witness is telling the truth.
It is possible that one fine day, someone you love will be arrested and charged with a criminal offense. Whether that person is innocent or not, but on that day you will pray that he or she is defended against the overwhelming forces of the government, by one law attorney.
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