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8.5: Defense Attorney

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    48403
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    Defense Attorney

    The other key player in the courtroom is the defense attorney. The defense attorney serves as opposition to the prosecutor. While the prosecutor is trying to convict the defendant, the defense attorney is attempting to defend the defendant. In defending the defendant, the role is not always to obtain a verdict of not guilty, but rather to make sure that the accused has a fair court process wherein all their rights are upheld. The rights of the defendant are stated in the US Constitution. Thus, the defense attorney is in upholder of the constitutional rights of the accused. Even the right to have a defense attorney is stated in the sixth amendment to the Constitution. While the defense attorney is to zealously defend their client, they must also balance their duties to the accused with their duties to legal ethics. The defense attorney can be a private attorney hired by the client or they may be a public defender who is hired by the government to offer services to indigent or poor citizens that cannot afford an attorney themselves.


    This page titled 8.5: Defense Attorney is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Dr. Wendelin M. Hume & Sherina M. Hume.

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