Neal Boortz: Why I don’t object to defense lawyers

Isn’t it just so much fun to hate a defense attorney?

Do you remember Larry Davis? A violent New York City drug dealer, circa 1986. A squad of cops show up to arrest him at 3 a.m. Davis shoots and kills six police officers. Davis hires William Kunstler who, in his closing argument at trial, tells the jury that if they don’t acquit Davis of these murder charges they will one day wake up at 3 a.m. — screaming. Larry Davis kills six police officers; Kunstler gets him off. Davis goes on to become known as “Hood Hero,” and later as Adam Abdul-Hakeem. Quite a guy. Eventually, as you would expect, the Hood Hero murdered again, and this time was convicted. The prosecutors got it right the second time.

Let’s not forget O.J. Simpson. There’s not a person out there with the IQ necessary to put their pants on straight who doesn’t think that Simpson butchered his wife. Here come Johnnie Cochran and Robert Shapiro — defense attorneys. There goes O.J., off to Florida to work on his golf game. Oh yeah, it’s easy to really hate defense lawyers.

David Wolfe is a friend of mine. He’s the lawyer who will be defending Christa Scott in her vehicular homicide trial in Fulton County. Scott, you will remember, is charged in the accident last Saturday that killed a young man who worked as an intern in Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office. Police said her blood alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit. Most of us would like to see this woman in jail until her hair turns gray; but first she must be convicted.

Aren’t you just in love with Wolfe for defending this alleged drunken driver in court? After all, an innocent man with a promising life is now gone. Let’s just toss her in jail now and save the taxpayers some money, right?

Actually, Wolfe deserves our thanks for representing Scott. So did Cochran and Shapiro and — forgive me for this — so did that crusty old lefty Kunstler.

In our country we all enjoy the right to life, liberty and property. These are natural rights that should be guaranteed to every person on the planet. There is, though, one entity that can deprive you of those rights, and can do this by using force — deadly force, if need be.

That entity is government. You do have something standing between you and government force, and that is the rule of law. While the government can take your stuff, your freedom or your life, there are legal procedures that must be followed. And just who is it that will step forward to make the government abide by the rules? Well, that would be your lawyer. Your Cochran, Shapiro or Wolfe.

I took a criminal defense case just once when I was practicing law. A national celebrity (who shall remain unnamed) was in town and doing a bit of drunken driving. After his arrest he hired me and demanded a jury trial. Trust me, this guy was plastered, but the jury said not guilty. I never handled a DUI trial again. I couldn’t bear the thought of helping someone escape a drunken-driving conviction and then going on to kill someone in a later incident.

Here’s the key: A defense attorney’s job is to make the prosecutor prove the client’s guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. If the prosecutor — the government — can’t meet that burden, then you get to keep your freedom, your stuff and your life.

This is the magic of a government of laws. The question is not whether or not you did it; it’s whether or not the government can prove you did it.

Trust me, you don’t want to live in a country where your life, liberty or property can be taken away because of political whim or the passions of the majority.