sublimeone said:
What do you call the guy who graduated last in law school?
Pedophile Attorney
Just kidding Woz... but seriously of all the law you could practice why this?
It's certainly not the only area I practice. I carry a predominantly criminal caseload (which are a mixture of privately paying clients and court appointed clients like Henry mentioned) and also a family law caseload. Child porn cases are not super common so at any given point I usually only have one or two.As for why I take them, Henry ford kind of alluded to it earlier - a good defense attorney handles all sorts of cases. I've done everything from defending people of low level petty misdemeanors to murder. And I view my job as the last bastion of hope for the innocent and, for the guilty, the one line speed bump to slowing down the overreacting public and ensuring that the rights of everyone, even the guilty, are followed. I'm not a magician. If a person does something bad and the state can prove it I can't make it go away. But I can ensure that they're given a fair sentence accordance with the law and, at the very least, got their side of the story told if the case does goes to trial. I think this thread is a great example of why that's important b/c without that speed bump the people like those in here literally calling for Jareds head would have their way.
That said, I specifically don't shy away from these cases in my jurisdiction b/c I find my jurisdiction's sentencing guidelines to be utterly absurd. A person is supposed to get ten years for each picture and those ten year sets must run consecutive to each other (I.e. Possess ten pictures you get 100 years). While I still haven't been able to desensitize myself to seeing these pictures and I personally find them disgusting and believe possessing them should be a crime requiring some incarceration, the idea that somebody can go away for life for possessing some pictures is an injustice to me. So, I choose to fight the fight most others never would.