Congratulations to Erin Hogan for sticking to her guns through her Kafka-esque experience in the American legal system, a world of incompetence, dishonesty, disrespect, and an overarching belief that legal advocacy is a war game. The fact that the word “intimidation” is apparently considered a legitimate courtroom tactic speaks volumes about the disintegration of a system that is, ideally, about fair punishment and rehabilitation. It sucks that a victim cannot press charges without being manipulated and intimidated by defense attorneys, chewed out by judges, ignored by the supposed advocates of the state’s interest, and made to feel guilty and foolish for pursuing her case.
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Since starting law school, I have found myself repeatedly appalled by the way Americans have chosen to pursue justice. Erin Hogan’s piece was just one more reminder of that. The mantra that we “don’t need any more lawyers in this country” is a half-truth. There is a very pressing need for a certain type of lawyer–those who understand that they are not required to bend to a client’s every whim, that “intimidation” is not an acceptable trial strategy, that the law is not a grown-up version of a fantasy role-playing game, and that a guilty man is not necessarily “best served” by being allowed to evade responsibility for his acts.
