19 Sep Lawyer Dons Thomas Jefferson Garb to Fight for License

Not in Kansas Anymore?

Why did the shark bypass the lawyer? Professional courtesy. Makes me think of that oldie but goodie in reading in the ABA Journal about a Kansas lawyer (and former gubernatorial candidate). He appeared before the Kansas Supreme Court last week in full Thomas Jefferson wig, big white socks and such to defend his actions. Ira Hawver (see above) was losing his license as a result of a finding that he ineffectively represented a capital murder defendant (the conviction was overturned because of this).

Hawver’s argument: he followed his client’s direction in not pursuing an alibi defense that was available, and he has the constitutional right to represent his client as he sees fit. The defense he did use with his client: he wouldn’t have let one woman stay alive to identify him and he was a better shot and would have killed the other two dead women with fewer shots. So it must not have been him.

In my decades of law practice I have witnessed both the triumph of amazing lawyering for the betterment of social justice and the lowest of the low doing whatever it takes to make a buck. While I’m a strong believer in individual rights and society interfering with us as little as possible, I think if you are accused of a crime, especially murder, it’s ok for society to set the right standards for the quality of your legal representation. Sorry Ira/Tom.