As a crime show fanatic, I have often considered the ethical and moral dilemma of serving as a defense attorney for someone who is guilty. Although I know that things are always more complex than they seem, I personally find it difficult to take these nuances into account in my perceptions of those who commit crimes. Listening to the Judge Miller’s experiences made me reflect about my personal biases.

During Judge Miller’s talk, he recounted some of his experiences during his time as a defense attorney. One anecdote that resonated with me was his explanation of his feelings as he went through the letters between his client (who had been accused of a violent crime) and his client’s mother. He had found that his client was actually an orphan who had eventually found his mother and was able to exchange heartwarming letters with her. Although this man was accused of a terrible offense, he had life experiences, emotions, and was human like the rest of us.

This made me think about the biases of the players in the criminal justice system. If judges, jurors, lawyers, and police officers rampantly allowed their biases to influence their perception of the law and those who break it (or accused of doing so), the system would lose its humanity. Although it is impossible to be unaffected by bias, I believe that we should strive to see others as more than our assumptions about them.  My key takeaway from Judge Miller’s story was people are not wholly good nor bad and that we should remember not to completely judge others by the worst thing they have ever done.