Ripping Apart Victims on the Witness Stand

I am absolutely outraged at the speech given by Massachusetts politician and defense attorney, James Fagan. My Fox Boston replayed Fagan's statement: "...and I'm going to rip them apart. I'm going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined. That when they're 8 years old they throw up, when they're 12 years old they won't sleep, when they're 19 years old they'll have nightmares, and they'll never have a relationship with anybody. And that's not 'cause I'm a nice guy. That's because when you're in court, and you're defending somebody's liberty, and you're facing a mandatory sentence of those draconian proportions, you have to do every single thing you can do on behalf of your client. That is your oath and obligation as a trial lawyer."

Fagan made this speech while debating Jessica's Law. Jessica Lunsford was a 9 year old Florida girl who was abducted and buried alive in a trash bag in 2005 by a sex offender. Mark Lundsford is going to Massachussetts this week pushing for mandatory prison time to be included in the state's final version of Jessica's Law.

According to www.lawinfo.com, "The trial attorney's job is to persuade a jury of the facts in a case, and to display them in a way that best supports their client's position." Wikipedia states that "Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice." A criminal defense lawyer specializes "in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal conduct." The deal with "problems surrounding the apprehension, searches of client or property not arrest until noted guilty of his or her client (4^th Amendment), as well as any statements the client may have made (5^th Amendment). Criminal defense lawyers also deal with the personality of the crimes his or her clients are charged with. In the United States criminal defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence until prosecutors prove each essential element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt."

I was unable to find any resources that stated that it is the oath or obligation of a trial lawyer to devastate or ruin a victim's life. According to the 6^th Amendment of the United States Constitution, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

The Ninth Article of the Bill of Rights states "In Suits as common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

The Tenth Article states "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

These are the rights of American citizens, criminal or not. I have not seen one document that states that it is a criminal's right to continuously victimize and traumatize a child or any other person that has accused them of wrongdoing.

In April 2002, at the Robert F Kennedy Department of Justice in Washington D.C., President Bush called for Crime Victims' Rights Amendment. He said "Justice is one of the defining commitments of America. In our war against terror, I constantly remind our fellow citizens we seek justice, not revenge. We seek justice for victims. We seek justice for their families...And while the war goes on, and while our fight for freedom continues, we will continue to work for justice at home, including justice for the victims of violent crime." He later stated "In the year 2000, Americans were victims of millions of crimes. Behind each of these numbers is a terrible trauma, a story of suffering and a story of lost security. Yet the needs of victims are often an afterthought in our criminal justice system. It's not just, it's not fair, and it must change. As we protect the rights of criminals, we must take equal care to protect the rights of the victims."

This country needs to focus less on the rights of criminals and more on the rights of the law abiding citizens and victims of crime. Perhaps that would help there to be less crime and make for a better community across the board. Plain and simple, criminals have the right to be treated like criminals and law abiding citizens have the right to safety and security. Does that not make logical sense? Or is it not politically correct?

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am6

http://www.usconstitution.net/first12.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020416-1.html