“There are Christians who think that Christian attorneys necessarily compromise their faith in their practice. Perhaps no issue brings this kind of thinking to the fore more than the question of whether Christian attorneys should represent the guilty. Complicating this question, in part, is American pop culture’s portrayal of lawyers who represent guilty clients as villains, and lawyers who betray guilty clients as heroes (e.g., The Devil’s Advocate, And Justice for All). … So the real question is whether a Christian is ethically permitted to represent a client she knows committed the crime. We are not talking about condoning legally unethical conduct such as committing perjury or destroying evidence, only the ethical propriety of forcing the state to prove its case. We also are not talking about just any crime. No one gets too worked up over a traffic ticket, only over “big ticket” offenses such as murder.”
This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author David Hagopian about his 2013 Viewpoint article. Viewpoint addresses relevant contemporary issues in discernment and apologetics from a particular perspective that’s not usually shared by all Christians. This column’s aim is for readers’ thinking on Viewpoint issues to be stimulated and enhanced (whether or not readers end up agreeing with the author). David’s article is tilted, “Not Guilty: A Biblical Case for Ministering to the Accused.”
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