Posted by Dave on 12/12/05 at 12:39:11 am
Categories: Personal Ravings, Crime and Justice

I have been thinking a lot lately about what my future holds. The plan all along was to apply for PhD programs in sociology that I can teach, research, and write, focusing on the intersection between religion and politics. But lately I have been questioning if that is the right direction for me. And the alternative would be to go to law school with the goal of being a public defender.

As most of my loyal readers know, I have always had an interest in crime, and more specifically - criminals, alleged criminals, etc. Few people would even think about giving any time to help these people, but I have always had a a desire somewhere to do exactly that. I have often been criticized - even on this blog - for standing up for "the guilty". And it is not always easy to take those stances. But that does not mean that it is not right.

And what better way to truly make a difference than to go into law to become a public defender.

With that said, I came across this tonight, which just adds confirmation to what I a have been thinking.

The Dilemma of the Christian Attorney [hat tip Arbitrary and Capricious]

Once there was a first-year (law) student who had to deal with a pompous and overbearing professor. One day she was called upon, and after the usual amount of pressure and pain, she succeeded in stating the holding of the case. As she finished she blurted out, "But it's just not right!" To which the professor responded cooly, "Listen, if you want to study what's right, you should have gone to divinity school..."

Several questions come to mind. Does it make sense to talk of a lawyer's vocation? In what ways can a lawyer's work be a vehicle of service to God and neighbor? More concretely, how would viewing law as a vocation affect the attorney's relationships to clients, courts, and adversaries?...

My guess is that such a model will lead to some surprising results. At times we may find ourselves less committed to the single - minded pursuit of our client's interests, while at times we may find ourselves more deeply committed to the client than ever before. For example, maybe the hard question is not "How can an attorney defend the guilty?" Maybe the hard question is "Given the example of Jesus, why don't we do it more often?"

Is that not a great question?

Why don't we do it more?

Why don't we defend the guilty?

And as a Christian, am I not called to defend all? Are we not all guilty? And did not Jesus defend us?

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