Answer

1. Report of an Interview with A Defense Attorney About a Case Involving Defenses to Criminal Responsibility

    

    

   An interview with a criminal justice professional provides significant insights into how the principles of substantive criminal law are applied to affect the results of a criminal case. I interviewed Jesse Robert, a criminal defense attorney in Michigan. Mr. Robert is a graduate of the Harvard School of Law and possesses 20 years of experience as a defense attorney.  Currently, he is a defense attorney but has previously worked as a prosecutor for Livingstone County. The interview surrounded a case where an accused person (James Oliver) was charged with murder in the first degree at the State of Michigan 18th District Court. Mr. Robert was working for Roberts and Co. Advocates and was chosen to represent the accused person in the stated case.

   The facts of the case are that the accused person, James Oliver, a 28-year old male, was charged with murder in the first degree after arraignment in the State of Michigan 18th District Court. The police were notified by James’s neighbor about a commotion in his house. Fifteen minutes later, when the police arrived, they found the accused person crying, holding a sharp knife. They also found the victim, James’s girlfriend, lying on a pool of blood in the bedroom. After further investigations, the victim’s body was found to have multiple injuries around the chest area. An autopsy revelated that the victim’s death arose from internal bleeding arising from the wounds. James was taken into custody, where he confessed to the murder but argued that he was not in the right state of mind when he committed the offense. The prosecution used James’s confession to ask the court to give the accused person the maximum sentence. James contacted Mr. Robert to represent him in the present case.

   The present case pertains to the crime of murder in the first degree, which is one of the crimes against the person listed in the assigned. The Michigan law defines first-degree murder as any killing of another person occasioned by means of poisoning, deceit, lying in wait, and another willful, premeditated, and deliberate killing. For a successful establishment of such a crime, the prosecution has to prove that the accused person intentionally committed the killing and that he/she thought about the commission of the crime before he/she committed it. In the present case, the prosecution argued that James had premeditated killing his girlfriend, and he had an elaborate plan to do the same. The standard of proof required to convict an accused person, in the present case, is that of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As such, the prosecution was challenged to prove that the murder was deliberate and premeditated. Mr. Robert explained to me that he attached a great significance to the present case for a variety of reasons.

   The primary reason why James’s case stood out for the defense attorney is that it involved an interesting issue concerning the defense of insanity, which is one of the rarely used defenses to criminal responsibility. Ideally, the insanity defense is used by a defendant whereby he/she admits culpability for criminal action but also asserts a lack of mental wellness at the time of the commission of the crime. The defense attorney interviewed was categorical about how the use of such a defense serves to reduce the defendant’s culpability. For example, the professional argued that the insanity defense is a form of affirmative defense, which demands that the defendant has to prove beyond reasonable doubt the existence of a severe mental illness or defect at the time of committing the offense. Mr. Robert demonstrated how he pleaded such a defense by arguing that the accused person was unable to make a difference between right and wrong. He demonstrated how such a defense enabled him to convince the court to find the accused person not guilty because he did not comprehend what he was doing at the time of committing the crime.

   The defense attorney gave insights about how the murder case impacted how he did his work as a criminal justice professional, especially the importance of overzealously representing his client. As a representative of the accused person, the interview with the defense attorney demonstrated the important role that such a person plays in defending the accused. For instance, Mr. Robert gave me an overview of the various actions that lawyers take to act zealously within the legal bounds and apply the different laws available with the aim of protecting their clients and acting in their best interests. Although the accused person already confessed to committing the crime, Mr. Robert, as a defense attorney, had the role of giving him the options available and advising him on the best course of action. The criminal justice professional illustrated how he had to convince the accused that despite his actions, he could still be found not culpable because of the insanity defense. The passion that Mr. Robert demonstrated illustrates how criminal justice professionals play a critical role in shaping the outcomes of criminal cases in the criminal justice system.

   From dealing with the accused person’s case, one of the key lessons that the professional learned is that some of the accused persons lack knowledge of their rights enshrined in the US Constitution and other state laws. For instance, Mr. Robert argued that the accused person was not informed about the Miranda rights at the time of the arrest. As such, he confessed to the murder without the presence of an attorney, which should not have happened. Additionally, the criminal justice professional argued that accused persons think that they are doomed irrespective of whether they committed a crime when not in their right frame of mind or not. Moreover, from providing representation in the present case, Mr. Robert demonstrated his lessons about the importance of educating the public about their rights to save them from exploitation by the criminal justice system.

   One of the ways that the lessons helped Mr. Robert perform his job better in the future is that it enabled him to immediately come in when his clients are taken into custody. According to Mr. Robert, failure to advise the client at the earliest opportunity may compromise the case because the accused person may inadvertently give information that may lead to self-incrimination. As such, Mr. Robert is now more proactive and very quick to come in and advise his clients to prevent them from giving out information that would otherwise weaken their defense. Additionally, Mr. Robert admitted that in the future, he would be more zealous in representing his clients and providing the best defense, regardless of his views about whether the client is innocent or guilty. Mr. Robert admitted that he is now less judgmental and more focused on his role of representing the accused person to the best of his knowledge and ability.