The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-11-25
PAYING FOR PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE

| not be believed; therefore we shall not
say it; besides, the remark might be
considered invidious to grocers, mechan-
les, clergymen or stockmen.
There are those who go to the other
extreme and say that no lawyer in prac-
tice a be honest, because of the men,
tai and moral bias which the practice
of the profession inevitably gives him.
He espouses cases without regard to
the justice or injustice of them. and he
gets into a confirmed habit Of trying, in
the interest of his client, to make the
wrong appear right, and the right ap-
pear wrong. AS a matter of business,
he is Indifferent to right and wrong,
and he uses the law not to establish
justice between man and man, but to
win the case of the man who employs
him, irrespective of its merits. If he
admits this, he says that the judge and
the jury arc to decide the case, and that
| his sole business is to present n tide
| of it; that every man has the right to
| have his case put in the best light, and
that the use of talent and cunning to
effect such a presentation is legitimate.
| We do not propose TO go into this
branch Of the subject, and will leave it
with the simple question /: what is the
effect of such n long continued intel
lectual attitude towards the right and
| the wrong upon the mind of the law
yerp
The law is the noblest science; it is
the expression of divine and human
wisdom; it is the only security of soci-
ETY.; its ministers occupy the most im-
portant position in society. The law is
the definition of justice between all the
members of a community, and our only
protection is its enforcement. There
is no nobler profession than that of the
law pursued in its spirit. When it is
used to defeat Justice, how shall we
characterize itP The profession is some
times SO used, and that use is defended
by the bar itself. We ask our readers
to consider the ethics of this sort of
practice.
1t is most conspicuous among that
| class of the bar, who call themselves,
we will not say with what justice of
definition, criminal lawyers. Their
chief business is the defense of men
accused of crime; their bread and but
ter depends not upon the extrication OF
the innocent from false accusations,
and the conviction of the guilty, but
upon their success in getting all the
accused who come to them, off from
punishment: and the more evident and
fragrant may he the crime of the pris-
oner, the greater the triumph of the
lawyer, if he can by any meant contrive
his clients escape. In short, to defeat
the ends of justice rs to criminals, per
fectly well known to be criminals by
the community, is held by the bar to he
n legitimate practice of law.
An excellent illustration Of this sort
of ethics has been furnished us during
the present term of court. Afew OF
the highway robbers who have for the
past veal made travel unsafe over the
Cheyenne route to the Black Hills,
have been arrested, after the county
authorities and the stage company had
offered large rewards for their capture.
The people or the taxpayers have paid
for the capture of these criminals; they
are brought to this city and lodged in
Jail, fed by the county, indicted by the
grand jury, who are paid for their ser
vices by the county, prosecuted by the
public prosecutor, who Is paid by the
taxpayer, tried by Il jury of twelve men
whose per diem comes out of the coun.
ty treasury, and defended bya attorney
tcho is paid by The taxpayer.
We have nothing to do here with the
privilege" of Jones, who is the coun'
sci appointed by the court TO defend
the criminal; we put that aside and
call attention to his conception of his
duty as a man, an officer of the court
and n minister of justice; to his notion
VI Wlitl IL 10 " pltCtiSe law. LIE
client is a noted criminal, the people
at large know him rs such, rewards
have been offered for his capture
dead or alive-and he stands before the
court of justice to get his punishment
for his many evil deeds. Thescourt
selects one of its officers, a me Der OF
the bar lin case of the inability of the
prisoner to pay for legal services) to ad.
wise with the court and with the pris.
one The attorney thus appointed is
in duty bound to advise the court as to
the legality of the indictment, and il
there are no objections to that, his duty
is discharged. He simply does what
otherwise the court would do himself.
If the attorney goes farther, he does
so voluntarily, or after being employed
and paid by the defendant. No at
torney should be permitted to put the
county to the expense of a long trial,
when the guilt of a prisoner is self
evident, and self-confessed by his be-
ing caught in the act of committing a
crime, or with stolen property in his