A recent article by the Washington Post reports that a Texas Judge ordered a Defendant to be shocked by a shock belt that delivered an 8 second 50,000 volt jolt to the Defendant when the Defendant didn’t answer questions in a manner that was acceptable to the judge. A Texas court of appeals has reversed the man’s conviction.
This brings me to a point that I often make about the need for Defense attorneys, even when the Defendant is likely guilty. Defense attorneys have the ability to ensure that officers of the law, and in this case, the Court, follow the constitution and the laws of the land. This makes sure that when someone is charged with a crime, the rules are followed (at least in theory) because everyone should be on notice that if you don’t follow the rules, good cases may get dismissed or overturned. Defense attorneys thus can ensure that the system works, and when a person is guilty, they actually go to jail; further, and more importantly, Defense attorneys working on criminal cases also provide a check against a system that could take advantage of innocent persons. Imagine if the man in the story is really innocent, and was being shocked because he wanted to defend himself- in fact, it appears that he was being shocked for requesting that the judge recuse himself. On the flip side, if this man is guilty, the improper treatment of the Defendant and failure to observe his rights has allowed his conviction to be overturned- also an injust result.
Two lessons to be gleaned from the article is that its important to have an attorney at all phases of the criminal process as the system only works with checks and balances on both sides, and second, Don’t Mess With Texas.
Article here.