Yeah, I lost court cases and misdemeanor juries, but of felony jury trials I was successful 105 of 106 times.
Vincent BugliosiRead
For a lawyer to do less than his utmost is, I strongly feel, a betrayal of his client. Though in criminal trials one tends to focus on the defense attorney and his client the accused, the prosecutor is also a lawyer, and he too has a client: the People. And the People are equally entitled to their day in court, to a fair and impartial trial, and to justice.
Interpretation
Lawyers must advocate vigorously for their clients, ensuring fair representation in all trials.
This quote emphasizes the ethical duty of lawyers to fully commit to representing their clients, whether they are defense attorneys or prosecutors. Vincent Bugliosi highlights the balance of justice, asserting that everyone in the courtroom, including the accused and society as a whole, deserves thorough and dedicated legal representation to achieve a fair trial.
In practice
In a speech on legal ethics, one might quote Bugliosi to emphasize the importance of lawyers' dedication to their clients.
Yeah, I lost court cases and misdemeanor juries, but of felony jury trials I was successful 105 of 106 times.
I start out with the assumption that a lawyer in a criminal case is going to be incompetent - substantially so. I find my assumption to be rarely wrong. Yet society starts out with the very opposite assumption.
If there is one thing that I take pride in, it is the fact that I never, ever make a charge without offering a substantial amount of support for it. You may ultimately end up not agreeing with me, but you will have to concede that I offered much evidence in support of my position, something that people frequently do not do.
As a trial lawyer in front of a jury and an author of true-crime books, credibility has always meant everything to me. My only master and my only mistress are the facts and objectivity. I have no others.
Contrary to common belief, the presumption of innocence applies only inside a courtroom. It has no applicability elsewhere, although the media do not seem to be aware of this.
Waiting for the conspiracy theorists to tell the truth is a little like leaving the front-porch light on for Jimmy Hoffa.
Most states in the union where the death penalty is theoretically on the books don't have executions.
Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal if you've been labeled a felon.
Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
When I signed on to letting the death penalty back in, I thought the procedural protections against executing an innocent person were stronger than they turned out to be.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of all mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
I understood at a young age that administrations come and go, but laws stay. So I decided to become a lawyer in order to help create a more just and peaceful world, not just in a fleeting moment but in a way that will endure from one generation to the next.
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