What if someone invaded my home, tortured and killed me? What would I want to happen?

I would want that person captured, tried and punished. But I would want one of my colleagues at the Bar to represent my murderer and I would want them to do the best job they could. /1

What if they had been motivated by something I had written?
Same answer.

By my politics or religion?
Same answer.

By my sex, race or sexual orientation?
Same answer.
/2
There are some who think that barristers defending cab rank over the past couple of days are arrogant and detached from reality. I disagree. I believe in a right to representation precisely because I *don't* think that the justice should bend to my interests. /3
Nor do I think it is detached from reality. We have seen many real world regimes experiment with fixing the system by denying representation. Right now there are regimes whose response to lawyers acting for victims of oppression is to arrest the lawyers. /4
Lawyers support a right to representation not because they live in a parallel universe of high principle but because they know what happens in this one when certain principles are abandoned. /5
When I acted for @canonjpemberton it wasn't because I believe in #equalmarriage, although I do and said so publicly and loudly. Nor was it because he is one of the finest people I know, although he most certainly is. I acted for him, ultimately, because he asked me to. /6
It was, of course, an honour to act for Jeremy. The same cannot always be said of one's clients. I got the chance to advocate for something I believed in passionately. Again, that is not always the case. But every client deserves (and I try to give them) my best. /7
Sometimes the planets align and you get a wonderful client, a case of real importance and a win and the public reaction is a firehose of positivity. We're human and the temptation is to revel in it. The temptation is to try to make sure all your cases are like that one. /8
But the danger of lawyers refusing to act for any client who is unpopular (whether because of widespread bigotry at one extreme or entirely deservedly at the other) is real and, one would hope, obvious. /9
Let arguments in court be won on their merits. /10
If you are hoping lawyers will only take arguments you approve of or only represent clients you think deserving then my entirely free advice is to be very careful what you wish for. /end

More from Life

How to get smarter very fast:

Interact with smart people here on Twitter who have different world-views than you do.

And let them change your mind on something.

Here are the 30 people you should follow (along with my favorite tweet from each)👇👇

Twitter can be terrible if you follow negative people.

It can also be more valuable than a college degree if you follow (and network with) the right people.

You get to look right into their brain and read a daily narrative of HOW they think.

Ok lets go:

#1: @ShaanVP

You know he's all about venture capital based entrepreneurship. I'm about small (non-sexy) business. We disagree on a lot of stuff.

But he's done it and he's won. Bonus follow: @theSamParr (@myfirstmilpod podcast


#2: @fortworthchris

He is where I want to be in 15 years. Has built a massive real estate private equity firm from the ground up. Super grounded with what the way he does business and his podcast @theFORTpodcast is top


#3: @Julian

I'm a scattered thinker and procrastinator.

Julian is a master of clear thinking and simple but effective writing. A world class example of content marketing and

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Oh my Goodness!!!

I might have a panic attack due to excitement!!

Read this thread to the end...I just had an epiphany and my mind is blown. Actually, more than blown. More like OBLITERATED! This is the thing! This is the thing that will blow the entire thing out of the water!


Has this man been concealing his true identity?

Is this man a supposed 'dead' Seal Team Six soldier?

Witness protection to be kept safe until the right moment when all will be revealed?!

Who ELSE is alive that may have faked their death/gone into witness protection?


Were "golden tickets" inside the envelopes??


Are these "golden tickets" going to lead to their ultimate undoing?

Review crumbs on the board re: 'gold'.


#SEALTeam6 Trump re-tweeted this.