I have received several comments on my posting about Megan's Law and the fact that I choose not to represent defendant's accused of abusing children. Some comments have supported my decision but others chastise me for "assuming the defendant is automatically guilty." I want to clear this up. I do not automatically assume a defendant is guilty if he or she is charged with abusing a child. I know there are circumstances when allegations are made that are not true. This particularly happens when the defendant is involved in a custody case and the other party makes allegations that may or may not be true. I have problems with a party making these allegations only when a custody battle starts to brew - where was the other party when the abuse was occurring? But that is another matter.
As I was stating, I do not automatically assume a defendant is guilty. I just do not want to represent them for my own reasons and, being in private practice, I can do that. In the past I have defended persons charged with child abuse. I was at one time an appellate public defender. I have represented defendants that were guilty - where a very young child was suffocated enough to leave her alive but in a vegetative state; some children suffered severe brain damage or physical deformities; etc. These cases take a toll on you after a while.
Also, just because I choose not to represent these defendants does not mean they will not have the benefit of a good lawyer. There are many criminal defense lawyers that will represent defendants no matter what the charge is. Each defendant, no matter what the charge is, deserves to have a lawyer that will aggressively represent him or her and to not pass judgment. On child abuse charges I am not sure I can do that any more and, therefore, I have taken myself out of that defense. I do not want to question whether I did the best job I could for the defendant and I definitely do not want the defendant to feel that I did not do my best. This explanation may not satisfy some of the people who have sent negative comments to me and that is okay. I can live with my decision.
Message for Tsand - I understand you're feelings about what happened to your friend Paul. I do not necessarily agree with charges being brought under the circumstances you have described (yes, I was a former assistant prosecuting attorney at one time). I also think that if your friend was charged then something should have happened to the girl also. Be that as it may, if your friend has to register under Megan's Law he may want to check to see if he can have his name removed from the registry at some point. In Missouri if a defendant is 19 years of age or younger and the victim was 13 years of age or older at the time the offense was committed, after two years the defendant can petition the court to be removed from the registration requirements. If what you stated is accurate, I find it hard to believe a court would deny his petition. Good luck to him.
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