The Portland daily press., 1869-02-24

The unqualified praise of men who ike Ru-
fus Choate and James T. Brady made it safe
to murder is an implied Endorsement of some
very questionable practices on the part of ad-
vocates. 1t was proper for them as criminal
lawyers to see that their clients suffered no in
justice. Not satisfied with this, however, they
went farther and used every art which fer
tile ingenuity could devise to shield some "
the worst rascals that ever breathed. oAn
ciety expect crime to be regarded VIII 'uisa
BILE horror or the criminal law to DC lai'niui'y
enforced when unqualified praise Des'o"eu
upon those who have allied themselves Win
the enemies of society and prostituted high
Gifts 70 tbe base purpose of shielding these en-
emias from merited retribution? The fact
that these gentlemen belonged to the LEGAL
profession does not excuse them. No criminal
has right to be shielded from the cOnse-
quences of his crime any further than the
forms Of law, established for the protection of
the innocent, occasionally also cover the heads
OF the guilty. What criminals get more than
this, they get by defrauding society, and who
ever knowingly assists them in gaining any
such undue advantage becomes participant
in the fraud. A man does not cease to be q
citizen by becoming lawyer. There is no
place in society, either high or low in when
the citizen can hide himself and be exempt
from his civic obligations. His obligation to
the social organization that protects him
should overrule all merely personal considera-
tons. He is not justified in ignoring the well
fare of society in looking after the interests Of
any individual 1t should be the business Of
lawyers to facilitate not to impede the admin
istration of justice, and he who prostitutes his
talents and position to securing by any artif-
clal contrivance inpunity for crime becomes
to that extent really if not Intentionally an
enemy of social order. Such an enemy is all
the more dangerousbecause he happens to be
in the guise of frlent.
That an advocate nay do anything in the
line of his profession b aid client in escap-
ing punishment is hersy to which such law
yers as Choate and Bray have lent the sane
tion of an example the aore pernicious be-
cause in other respects &c honorable. Such
examples have done an irsalculable amount
to demoralize the practice in our criminal
courts. Rascals naturally PETER that their
counsel should have no scrupes, but it is to1
the interest of society that they should have
seruples. So long as men can be, ,ad who will
allow themselves to be seduced b the oppor-
tunities for a brilliant display of tasnt afford
ed in criminal trials, they can of couse secure
monopoly of the criminal business Those
who attach more Importance to the duands
of Justice than to personal consideration will
be Obliged to confne themselves to Other de
partments of practice. Justice will be mott
ed by the escape OF criminals from the clutch'
of the law, and the increased chances Of e'
emption from punishment will encourse
CRIME.
If men can be found who will prostitute em
nent talents to such evil purposes, society owe
it to itself at least not to applaud such cours
of conduct. A vigorous condemnation of
by public sentiment will do something
>Annteract the influence of the temptation III
oh snose "i'~-A- instincts teach them bette
and may compel the respect even of thos
who are lost to all higher considerations. w
would not detract from the merits of the dead
We would not snatch away one of their hard
earned laurels. But a suitable regard for th
interests of the public demands that we shoul,
deal plainly with their faults.