I attended last week’s Rose Cafe, where Judge Scott Miller talked about what he learned from his time as a defense attorney and the various unique experiences he had.  As a business major from a family with no real law experience or occupation, I didn’t know much going in and I didn’t know what to expect.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the other side of legal procedures.

When discussing the courtroom and legal setting, TV shows, movies, etc. tend to focus on the prosecution and paint the defendant as “bad” and already guilty despite the legal system’s promotion of “innocent until proven guilty”.  While that statement is true technically, dramatizations on TV tend to suggest the opposite.  Not much is shown from the defendant’s side in a literal manner of what it’s actually like.

Judge Miller’s talk was very interesting because he presented the other side.  Many of the people he defended really were innocent, and it was up to him to prove that to the jury.  For those that he knew were guilty, it was still his responsibility to fight for them and convince the jury that there was even a sliver of doubt of his/her guilt.  I really enjoyed hearing the other side of the legal story and getting a look at what the defendant’s side of the court is like.