On Being A Criminal Lawyer 

By Samuel Estefanous

Recently the Ethiopian Federal Advocates Association (EFAA) released a strongly worded notice to social media lawyers entreating them to quit disgracing themselves and the profession. 

One could positively wager that ‘mainstream’ lawyers had pressed the motive on the association.  They did right, too.  It certainly makes you cringe when a light weight rookie sticks his/her face on screen and says something like as a matter of fact, legal proceeding has little to do with Truth (Incidentally that was what a seasoned lawyer has said in connection with Gelete Burqa’s case, not even a restless rookie one) .Imagine how such reckless statement crushes the dreams of aspiring lawyers all over the country.

In plain terms the suggestion impresses on the layperson the idea that lawyers are indeed crooks and that practicing law is like cleverly burying the truth ten feet deep beneath mountains of stinking dirt. Not to mention the kind of false solace it gives to the wicked class of lawyers who had lent the trade a bad reputation in their endless blind drive to amass as much blood money as possible or to assume higher offices by pandering to the unholy interests of the politicos.       

I believe most lawyers are familiar with the pun made by playing on the phrase ‘criminal lawyer’.  It is like the Wax and Gold thing, you know, something like what the ferenjis call ‘double entendre’. Naturally there is this class of lawyers specializing in criminal law and they are called ‘criminal lawyers’, just like tax lawyers, tort lawyers etc. On the other hand there are lawyers who are an affront to justice to put it rather mildly.  A poor fella who had suffered on the hands of the latter class visits another law office who happens to be a good team and give him an honest advice that they wouldn’t be able to retain his case saying;

‘we are personal injury claim lawyers, what you need is a criminal lawyer.’ To which the prospective client responds

‘A criminal lawyer? I didn’t know there was any other kind!’   See what I mean? Folks think of lawyers and it would be unfair to totally blame them and among others that is why I lauded the action of EFAA. 

Unable to Decline Advocacy Service?  

It is almost a universally accepted precept when it comes to a lawyer’s code of conduct-a criminal lawyer CAN NOT decline advocacy service on grounds of personal assumption of guilt or  the nature of the crime allegedly committed by the prospective client. The Constitutional right of a defendant/suspect to be represented at a court of law is one of the sacred rights that deserve maximum protection.  It is like tech firms inviting any capable super skilled programmer to hack a given network to prove that the system is super safe and dependable. In like manner, the criminal justice system demands that a defendant should get the best representation possible to cast the slightest doubt on the commission of the crime by the said person. 

What I am trying to say is sometimes lawyers are called names when they actually deserve blessings for representing the wickedest defendant society would like to see torn from end to end. I know it is difficult to dislodge the perception firmly established by some books and movies like Liar, Liar where a kindergarten kid refuses to answer what his Dad does for a living and eventually relents and says his father is a Liar who always wears suit, goes to court and talks to a judge. ‘You mean a lawyer?’ the confused Miss inquires and the kid shrugs his shoulders implying something like ‘if that is what they are called, yes, ma’am’.

Contrary to criminal cases in any given civil litigation I believe a lawyer is discharging his solemn professional duty to serve justice when he declines retaining a case that is founded on falsehood and misrepresentation. They have sworn to do so on the occasion of having their license issued by the Ministry of Justice.  I take serious issues with those who argue otherwise.

The Gelete Burqa Brief

Any person who drives past Sebeta on the Weliso-Welikite-Djimma road in the middle of the cold bleak foggy rainy season knows what our athletes go through to earn the reputation and money they more than deserve. 

They say on the hills of Entoto their constant companions are hyenas. I had assumed sweating blood was just an idle Amharic saying but it is actually a medical case called hematidrosis and athletes are most susceptible to suffer the condition after excessive physical exercise.  In the face of all these challenges, it takes a formidable will power to become an athlete and God Bless them- beating all the odds they have made us proud and invariably won the love and respect of Ethiopians from every walk of life. 

So when one of the only true Heroes we all look up to is said to have become a victim of high end swindling, it is natural that society becomes emotional. From being verb-emotional one makes the transition to tightening jaws when the victim happens to be someone like Gelete. As it is for some reason we are under the impression that misfortune has frequented Gelete more than her fair (remember አይዞሽ ገለቴ?). Besides, she impresses one as a gullible pushover liable to be manipulated by anybody.  

The thing is folks have become more enraged after listening to the ‘other side of the story’ by her ex on Seifu show. Under normal circumstances the other version in the very least mitigates the extreme impressions of the opening argument but in Gelete’s case her ex-husband proved that he had compounded his guilt by allegedly adhering to the script provided by a lawyer. 

He tried to lecture us that we are nothing without our parents and that we should be able to provide for them more than we do for ourselves-meaning he had indeed transferred a title deed to his mother because in his words ‘my mother is her mother and as a result no harm is done.’ Creepy!

The one that got me laughing till my tummy ached was his assuming the plural pronouns when speaking of Gelete’s career. We have suffered some setbacks at Doha…we won the indoors game at…we were a little disappointed with our medal standing at Seville…our tendon got strained at Berlin’ blah… blah.. blah… meaning yes, I might have misappropriated her property but since I had worked hard for it I didn’t defraud her. 

Officials of the Athletics Federation were sizzling with muted rage but refrained from further comment as the case is still pending. I applaud their decency and I share their optimism that justice will prevail at the end of the day. I hope to God they wouldn’t blame the miscarriage of justice on some procedural mishandling and fail us miserably. If necessary the judiciary could benefit from some kind of Amicus Brief or whatever else it is called. After all, the declared primary Vision and Mission of the Judiciary is to maintain Credibility and Trustworthiness. 

A disclaimer-the above is by no means a professional case brief or commentary. 

God Bless.  

The writer could be reached at : estefanoussamuel@yahoo.com

Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com      

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