This illustrates the importance of legal representation for those accused by the state.
But for this footage, the official state narrative - “tripped & fell” - would have been swallowed whole by many, not least those in my mentions fuming at lawyers offering help to protestors.
But for this footage, the official state narrative - “tripped & fell” - would have been swallowed whole by many, not least those in my mentions fuming at lawyers offering help to protestors.
This is why, even though it’s sometimes unpopular, we don’t simply accept the truth of an accusation at face value.
Instead we demand an independent criminal investigation, and, equip each other, through legal aid, with the tools to mount a defence.
Instead we demand an independent criminal investigation, and, equip each other, through legal aid, with the tools to mount a defence.
Inevitably, guilty people will sometimes try to use this to their advantage to evade justice. And it’s frustrating, I know. I prosecute these people. But it’s the trade-off in a system engineered to try to avoid innocents being wrongly accused and convicted by the state machinery
When we start to diminish the importance of those protections, we strengthen the hand of those who would abuse their power to do us wrong.
Thank you for coming to my lecture.
Thank you for coming to my lecture.
POSTSCRIPT: This sermon is multi-purpose. These principles apply generally across criminal law, to all defendants and all allegations, irrespective of where our sympathies may instinctively lie in any given case.
