I’ve been practicing law for 16 years now.  I’ve been associated mostly with criminal cases, particularly as counsel for the accused.  Since 1994 (with the restoration of capital punishment), I’ve represented people accused of rape, murder, kidnap for ransom, rebellion, coup, inciting to sedition, among many others.

If course, the most famous client I’ve had, whose name had been associated with me for some time, was the first person to be executed by lethal injection on February 5, 1999.

In my work, I’m used to asking questions of witnesses or of my clients.  However, as a lawyer, I’ve also been asked my share of questions—from my clients, my friends, and even by some fellow lawyers.  Some questions are asked more often than others and if I were to put these together as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the top two would be:

FAQ No. 1:  Do you ever ask your client if he’s guilty?

My usual answer to this is, “No;  and not until its necessary.”  Unlike many lawyers, I do not ask my clients this simply because I do not need to know in order to represent him.

Of course, I’ve had my share of clients who “looked” or “appeared” guilty and along the way and in the long years I’ve practiced law, I’ve developed a radar for these things, which has been generally accurate.  But by and large, I’ve never found this question and the answer to it important.

I once had a client who was charged with illegal possession of firearms and was arrested after a labor day rally;  he was a labor organizer suspected of being a member of the underground movement’s hit squad. 

During our initial meeting, I did not ask the question as to his guilt but he volunteered the information that the gun was planted; he did not say anything about being part of the underground movement.  When it came time for me to present his defense,  I asked him if he had any witnesses. 

He volunteered a person whom he said could vouch for him and his innocence.  When I met with this witness, my very first question was “what’s your name?”  This was met with a silence that became uncomfortable after some minutes; he then looked at me and asked me, “attorney, anong pangalan ba gagamitin ko (“which name should I use)?

I cracked up, having all but confirmed from this witness, who could not even give me his name, that my client was probably guilty of illegal possession and probably had ties to the underground movement;  I told the witness, “kung anong pangalan ang nandyan sa papeles mo (whichever name appears on your documents).” My client could only offer me a sheepish grin.  Everything proceeded smoothly after that.  He testified;  my client was acquitted and I have not seen him since.

FAQ No. 2:  How do you feel about representing guilty clients?  Would you still represent the client if  you later discover he’s guilty?

I’ve never felt “bad” about representing clients whom I knew, for a fact, were guilty—due either to the evidence or by their own admission. (Of course, before you write me off entirely as a ghoul, I must hasten to add that my standards for accepting clients—even if they are guilty—are quite stringent;  I draw the line at many things—among them, drug dealers and pushers as well as accused who have assaulted minors.)  Many times, they are the ones who most need the help of a lawyer.  Of course, it also depends on the offense involved.

For instance, it’s much harder emotionally to represent a rapist rather than a rebel.  Listening to a client admit to me that he did rape the complainant was a gut-wrenching experience; the admission was quite matter of fact for him, with hardly any emotion in his voice. 

In his defense, he claimed that he was absolutely drunk and that “she was asking for it.”  I had to restrain myself from screaming at him and telling him that no woman will ever ask to be raped; instead, all I asked him was  whether he was remorseful for what he had done.  I wasn’t expecting a response but , to my surprise, he answered, “araw araw po. (every single day).”  Somehow, that made representing him a bit easier—not by much, but still it did ease the load.

These are questions I welcome because they help me reflect daily on what it is I do and why it is that I do it.  Many times, I ask myself these questions and reflect on my answers. 

Through these years, I’ve discovered that the passion, the professionalism, and the persistence that I’ve brought to my practice have been influenced by my answers to the two FAQs. 

In the end, my conviction remains that every person, no matter his guilt, is entitled to the best defense I can offer and having chosen this profession, I can do no less than offer that to them.

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