The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-11
A DISCOURSE ON LAWYERS.
AT INTERVENING DISCOURSE BY
 REF. ". F. DICKERAAN.

Lawyers Often Much Misrepresented-A
 Criminal Has a Right to the Best Defense
 He Can Get-IIe Deals With Realism
 That Is Not Found in the Pulpit.
 Rev. W. r. Dickerman, pastor of the Church of the Messiah, preached very interesting sermon last evening, taking as his subject "The Legal Profession. ." He thought that the profession of the lawyer had not been propery represent ed. He thought he was one of the most misrepresented men in the community. He then pointed out the special liabili- ties that lawyers were open to.
 "A lawyer" he said, makes his liv- ing out of the weaknesses of mankind. In this he differs from the minister and the doctor, who live from mankinds in 1irmities. We have many institutions which we regret are incorporated into our civilization. To ask, Is the lawyer honest? know, provokes smile and 1t will be a hard task to change the impressions that people have. Com- pairing a physician and a lawyer in re- gard to lying, one might say that the physician lies in a private and the law yer in a public manner The one puts his hand on the pulse of his patient, and the other, it sometimes seems, puts his hand on the clients purse. We off ten hear it urged against lawyers that they get their living out of the criminal classes andtthat such a practice makes lawyers interruptions and in league with criminals against society It is only ignorance that says this, however Their profession is a peculiar one, en- tirely different from that of any other professional man. It is the office of the tribunal to place a criminal in the low est possible light. The popular idea of justice is to- punish a man severely for one misdeed and entirely ignore his pre- vious good record. Neither do people generally make any allowance for what special circumstances may have led man to commit a. crime against the stat ute. This popular idea of justice is not always the just one Then, too, a law yer has to suppress his own personality and individuality. He must set aside bias and prejudice and become agnostic. There will always be evidence enough against his client. The lawyer really decides nothing. That is for the jury and the court. He is an expositor. set ter forth of the case in the best light possible for his client. The prosecuting attorney too, often feels it his duty to convict, and fails to recognize the fact that he is only the instrument of the people for the protection of society. He should not be unduly prejudiced against the prisoner.
 "A lawyer needs to be widely read and broadly informed on all topics. He must be more or less posted In all direc- tions and on all topics. Jurists have to deal with the failures of our churches, schools and police service, It has to deal with the problems which our so- cial system has failed to solve. He must therefore have the head of a phil osopher, a heart stout and tender and unswerving nerves.
 "A lawyer is generally an optinnist. They do not as rule take a pessimistic view of life More than any other class of men, they are broad in their ideas. I believe that no other profession is so unbiased and unprejudiced They are charitable also in their feelings.
 Lawyers cases are real. Ministers often have much to do with specula- tions. They are very often concerned with some grand spectacular descrip- tion of the appearance of an imaginary city in the skies. But lawyer has a chance to be eloquent in describing real things. There is in, his profession re- alism that is not found in the pulpit. We as faymen owe a certain duty to the legal profession. If the individual is made free from sin the whole body poli- tic will be-"