The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-12-01
ANOTHER REMEDY.

IN Whlcn, al IeleiiiiS w
her of homicides in the state, ne sug-
gests as a remedy the employment
bv the state of attorneys to represent
the accused in every case, without al
lowing the latter to select his own
counsel. His article is as follows:
"The papers are filled with &C
counts Of homicides, and these are
mere consequences of our defective
Judicial System. Let the South Car
olina Legislature provide for the elec-
ton of Defendants Attorneys for
every Judicial District in the State
and have them paid by the State the
same salaries as the Prosecuting At
torneys, and where additional counsel
is needed, have it supplied by the
Attorney-Geueral without one, sug-
gestion as to the person to be sent as
an assistant to the District Defend
ants Attorney from the Defendant
his family, or friends. Let South Car
olina lead in this movement, as have
been begging her to do, as you kno"
I have, for many years. BY refere-
ence to your issue of April 2Sth, 1914
YOU will see one of my articles, and
vour editorial on that article telling
of the adoption of this system by the
District of Los Angeles, California.
The coming of this change is assured
but I do wish my state to lead IN so
good a movement, and have'n mo prl-
vately paid attorneys appear IN her
Criminal Court"
The writer we doubt not has in
mind the good of the state, but the
suggestions are too absurd for con-
sideration. We know nothing of the
law referred to in the article as hav-
I ing been adopted by the State OF Cal
ifornia, but we do not think that any
one would contend that such law IS
constitutional. Section 18, Article l
of the Constitution of this state pro-
vided that a person accused Of crime
shall among other things be entitled
to be "fully heard in his defence by
himself or by his counsel or by both. I"
We think the constitutional Conven-
ton meant what it said when it said
"his counsel" The sixth Amendment
to the Constitution of the United
States provides that a person accused
of crime shall be heard by counsel,
The word "his' is not used, and we
are not advised whether the section
has been construed by the courts on
this point or not, but whether it has
or not, we venture to suggest that a
man is not represented by counsel
except when the attorney is of his
own selection. Counsel as used in
these enactments can mean nothing
else than a personally selected ad-
wiser. Inasmuch as the party accused
is supposed to confide in the party
selected as counsel all the facts about
which he may be questioned by the
latter, and inasmuch as the counsel
plays so large part in the court in
making admissions and otherwise
charging the client by what he says,
we suggest that the word "counseP'
must mean something more than mere
''lawyec." 1t must of necessity mean
person learned in the law, selected
by the accused as his representative
because he is willing to make to
such counsel his confidential commu-
nications and commit to him the
management of his case
The constitutions of the United
States and of South Carolina, each
provides, that a party may not be
made witness against himself. But
if his counsel must be a state officer,
appointed by the state, and not Sc
lected by himself, then the accused
cannot stand trial without disclosing
every fact in his knowledge to an Of
ficer of the state, and thus in effect
become a witness against himself. If
he declines to mako known his case
to a man whom he does not trust,
then he is not freely heard"
Sometimes the safeguards which
experience has shown to be necessary
for the protection of persons accused
of crime seem to stand in the way of
tbo 1,,o onfor,op,op<. of fbo Low, P,,t