For Seller

By: Phil Amoa

During the brief moments I sat at Barnes and Noble to read what great minds had written to inspire, I came across a book with an eye-catching title, "Objection" by Nancy Grace. When I began reading the introduction I was heart-felt for Nancy who had lost her fiancé, Keith. I totally understood her reasons for pursuing her career as a legal prosecutor. In her book “Objection”, she vehemently expressed her disgust for defense attorneys, stating that their compensatory ways of comprising what they did was their motto "I’m just doing my job." Nancy had cited various attorneys of good record who had won high profile cases and gave an epiphany of how they persuade juries to obscure evidence that will convict the guilty. I, however, pause and ask who is the guilty and who is to say who is guilty?

The title of this article is “Overruled! Nancy Grace lacks evidence,” where I am expressing my views regarding how defense attorneys were perceived in the book, Objection. Prosecutors; are they the good of the law? I pose this question, not to argue the contrary, but to raise a valid point as to what good is. The fundamental belief of the law is that, it is better to free a guilty man than to convict an innocent man. In the name of doing their job; the federal, state and county prosecutors have charged individuals of crimes they did not commit. I feel that Nancy’s claim against defense attorneys is one-sided and shallow because every now and then, the media shows numerous instances where people who have served twenty plus years are released on newly discovered DNA evidence. Yes, at that time, they must have been the right people in an uncompromising place to prosecute, but now who is responsible for making sure justice is served?

Nancy Grace stated that the founding fathers did not have women and minorities in mind when the constitution was drafted but, I fail to acquiesce with her because the same constitution provides the opportunity for fairness in a trial. Working as an intern with the public defender’s office, I saw what was palpable: Nancy purported that she was unreasonable when negotiating. This could have gone against an alleged criminal being represented by an attorney with weak credentials.

What happens to the innocent? No matter how distraught people feel about the job of defense attorneys. There comes a time when an alleged criminal was in an unfortunate position and has all forensic and circumstantial evidence pointing to him or her is not guilty. So the hero, the defense attorney, does his or her job to exonerate his or her client. One great public defender once said that "It is not our place to judge these people" and I hold this distinctly true when I claim neither is it the District Attorneys place to judge as well.

Phil Amoa is a young author who has publised books on time management and has also written various book reviews and articles. He is College Student at Gwynedd-Mercy College.