TKAM Point of view Trial

Trial from the Point of View of a member of the black community sitting in the Balcony:

I am here today to plead that the jury votes that Tom Robinson is innocent. I saw the whole scene, and can tell you that the Ewells are liars! I agree with everything that Tom told you, especially that Mr. Ewell said, "He says you goddamn whore, I'll kill ya." I got to witness what happened after Tom ran away. Mr. Ewell beat up Mayella. As you can see, Tom is completely innocent.

I have known Tom before he could walk. He is the most gentle, caring, polite man you will ever meet in your life. He is the least likely person in this town to do something like that. He has been doing things that she has asked him to do, and never asked for a cent. He treats everyone with respect, especially ladies, no matter how rich or poor they are. With that I please ask you jury, don't let this innocent man go to jail for a crime he did not commit.

To kill a Mocking Bird if i were a lawyer

Pretend you worked very hard through law school, became a lawyer, and you now currently earn a modest living working independently at law.

You are asked by one of your closest friends to defend someone who has been accused of stealing from the PHHS scholarship fund [or another controversial topic]. The people in both communities, Montvale and Woodcliff Lake, believe that this individual committed the crime. The monetary sum of $2,000 was found in the accused individual's bank account the day after the money was discovered to be missing; the accused could not explain why the money appeared in his account.

If you take this case, you will be looked at critically by everyone around you, and you might even lose some of your close friends. People may come to judge you for your choice to defend an individual that looks blatantly guilty.

The accused person is very poor and states that he did not commit the crime. He has no witnesses to support the fact that he is innocent, but he has never been involved in any arrests/suspicious activities before. In fact, his coworkers have only the nicest things to say about him. If you choose not to defend him, no other lawyer will come to his defense.

The question is: Do you take the case? Why/why not? If yes, what would you offer as a defense? If no, what holds you back from this client?

*Challenge*: How is this situation similar to what is occurring in To Kill a Mockingbird? 

Answer: I would defend him because I think he is innocent. Atticus is defending a black man, and everyone thinks that he did it but he is defending him anyways, and everyone thinks he is wrong for it.