Jacek Dubois: The Human Advocate

I find myself often quoting Tadeusz de Virion when talking about the legal profession. When asked on a public affairs program whether a defense attorney should always defend, the attorney answered in the affirmative, explaining that an attorney's duty is to help anyone who asks for such help. And neither the cruelty of the act nor the person of the accused should have any influence on such a decision, and defense can be refused in exceptional cases. Then the host of the program asked what the guest would do if Hitler asked him to defend his case. Of course, I would take the case - replied the attorney - although I would secretly pray that Mr. Hitler would decide to choose one of my colleagues.