by Nicole Buxeda
Key points:
What is the Cab Rank Rule & how does it affect New Zealand lawyers?
Greg King and what we learned from his suffering.
Who offers care and protection for those practicing law?
Shakespeare wrote in Henry VI ‘The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.’ So should we? How justified are we when we mock the trustworthiness of the legal profession and what does it mean for individuals who practice it? Recently, top criminal defence lawyer Greg King committed suicide, drawing attention to the depression rates within the profession and the heavy burdens that practitioners face. The NZ Lawyer calls depression ‘the legal profession’s gorilla in the closet’. While there is growing awareness of the strains of the legal profession, there still remains a negative public opinion and stereotype associated with practicing law. The Greg King tragedy brought to light the need to protect and support lawyers. Knowledge about a lawyer's obligations, and the requirements of the Cab Rank Rule can be seen as a vital step forward for the industry and a step towards preventing others suffering the way Greg King did.
The Cab Rank Rule
In New Zealand, justice is seen as a hallmark of the society we live in, and the right to a fair trial is a fundamental part of our justice system. We all know that an individual should be assumed innocent until proven guilty; that too is an essential part of our justice system. To achieve this, we have criminal defence lawyers – lawyers who defend the person charged with the crime, and attempt to cast sufficient doubt upon their alleged guilt. Blackstone’s formulation from the 1760s, states that ‘It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.’ To ensure that this occurs and that representation is afforded to even the most reprehensible of criminals the Cab Rank Rule exists. The Cab Rank Rule requires that lawyers not turn down a client who approaches them.
Regardless of any of the lawyer’s personal beliefs there are three specific requirements that dictate whether they must represent a client: if it is in their field, if they have enough time and if they will be remunerated. Section 4 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act, the Act which governs the practice of law as a profession in New Zealand, is very clear that a client may not be refused representation by a lawyer based on any grounds of discrimination, any personal attributes of the client or the merits of the client’s case.
This rule is in place to prevent lawyers choosing cases based on their merits, and thus acting as a judge. Lawyers being able to choose cases would destroy the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’. If a lawyer could refuse to take a particular case this would indicate to the public, and the judge and jury, that the lawyer believed that the case or the person bringing the case was questionable. It would also result in certain cases struggling to find legal representation. It is essential as it directly relates to the ability of every citizen to access justice.
However the Cab Rank Rule can place an unreasonable demand on lawyers, it forces them to represent clients who they may find reprehensible, or whose case fills them with disgust, and yet are forced to work closely and professionally with this person. This type of fundamental conflict can cause the lawyer much stress.Yet at the same time the Cab Rank Rule can be seen to be beneficial for lawyers themselves, as they cannot be blamed for acting on behalf of a client. In spite of this, it is not always the reality, as lawyers may face a backlash for representing certain notorious clients. Therefore there is a degree of protection afforded to lawyers but how does this stand up to the public perception of lawyers representing infamous criminals?
Public Perception of Lawyers Representing Criminal Clients.
The Cab Rank Rule results in lawyers having to represent clients who are accused of horrific crimes. An accusation levelled at lawyers frequently is that they represent guilty people and try to get them off. These common accusations towards lawyers have been aired frequently in high profile criminal cases, such as the Clayton Weatherson case. In this instance acid was thrown on the car of the lawyer defending Weatherston, and a large amount of hate mail was targeted at the lawyers defending him. Four years after this incident Greg King, a well known lawyer working on the Weatherston case, killed himself. He said he was haunted by the deaths of all the people from his homicide cases and that he hated himself for what he had done. These attacks on lawyers who are fulfilling the legal requirements of their job are common in the media, and personalised towards the lawyers themselves. It is easy to blame a lawyer for defending a person who appears to be guilty, however without those lawyers, a functioning justice system could not exist. Defending those who come to your door is part of the justice system that keeps New Zealand a just, democratic country.
Conclusion
Today equal access to justice is seen as a human right, a foundation of our society and an essential element to democracy. It would be impossible to have this without having defence lawyers, and those defence lawyers, and their criminal clients, are protected to some extent by the Cab Rank Rule. The suicide of Greg King demonstrates the huge pressure on criminal lawyers and the effect that the media backlash can have. In order to ensure that this tragedy does not occur again society, the media and the legal profession must develop an understanding to facilitate protection, care and support for individuals practicing law.