Re: For David Von Pein Fuhrman vs Alan Dershowitz

On Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 6:56:43 PM UTC-5, ajohnstone wrote:
> > Who do you think lawyers are supposed to work for? Saints?
> You implied that Dershowitz should be admired for his commitment to 
> professional standards. My point was that Dershowitz was not working for 
> Nader, (at least not publicly, as far as can be determined). He has nor 
> lawyer relationship towards Nader. 
> 
> Rather than loyalty to the rule of law and support for the decision of 
> the court, Dershowitz chose to advocate for clemency for Nader, a 
> self-confessed sex-criminal, with the rationalization that such an act 
> would be for the 'general good', which is defined by Dershowitz himself. 
> He sought to over-rule the legal process for his own political reasons. He 
> was not standing for the rule of law but seeking to bend it. 
> 
> As for the broad principle that a president can over-turn sentencing 
> verdicts of courts and judges, i find rather archaic, which resembles the 
> powers of monarchs and dictatorships. Certainly, remissions and pardons 
> should be an integral part of the prison system but permitting it to be at 
> the idiosyncratic whim of a politician doesn't reflect well on a nation's 
> legal system.

Lawyer's should not be judged by the clients they choose to work for.  
Dershowitz may not have been representing Nader in legal proceedings but 
that is not the only thing lawyers do for their clients. In this case they 
had a common purpose which was brokering a Mideast peace deal and 
Dershowitz simply decided it was for the greater good for Nader to be 
released early. It would be hard to argue that would not be the case if it 
could help reduce violence in the Mideast.