2
Reflecting on the viewpoints that a defense attorney (Court-appointed lawyer) would
have compared to the victim within the given scenario was interesting to consider. On the side of the
Defense Attorney, you have an individual assigned by the court to defend an individual with legal
representation to the best of their ability. Then, on the other hand, you have a victim of a crime who
now has to go the rest of their life dealing with the injuries they endured during the commission of the
crime. One seeks to defend, while the other seeks retribution essentially. The Defense Attorney has the
duty to provide the best defense for Adam. Still, at the same time, the Defense Attorney could be
pledged by holding numerous cases and could see this case as another drug addict trying to get his next
fix. They would look for the plea agreement approach for a quick adjudication. The victim may want to
place this trauma behind them and might be unwilling to participate due to their head injury, which has
affected their memory. The victim would have to testify and risk a possibly traumatic cross-examination
if the case went to trial. Justice in the eyes of the Defense Attorney would be leniency for their client
with no restitution, but for the victim, justice would be a conviction with restitution being given. The
issue for both outcomes would be Adam’s prior criminal history, which makes leniency less likely since he
is a repeat offender, but that works in favor of the victim getting a conviction. The victim would almost
be guaranteed not to receive financial compensation due to Adam’s financial situation.
After looking at all possibilities that could benefit both parties, supervised probation is the best
course of action. The reason behind this is to consider what would be the most beneficial for the victim.
Having Adam out on supervised probation will make it mandatory for him to submit to regular drug
tests, provide the opportunity for him to have an income to provide money towards his family, as well as
pay money towards restitution for the medical expenses and associated costs the victim has had to
endure. The Defense Attorney can close this case with a reasonable plea agreement that avoids
incarceration. This could have secondary influences as well that aren’t typically thought about by
keeping two parents within the household for Adam’s oldest son, which according to some studies,
3
“Children from single-parent families account for 72% of teenage murderers and 60% of rapists.”
(Lindner, 2023) The crimes within that statistic are the most egregious crimes a person can commit, so
one can deduce that the percentage for the lesser crimes is probably much higher. For this compromise
to work, the victim would have to find a way to forgive Adam for what took place, “for if you forgive
other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14 NIV,
2011)
4
References
Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 6:14-15 - New International Version. Bible Gateway.
(2011). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A14-
15&version=NIV
Bohm, R., & Haley, K. (2021).>Introduction to Criminal Justice. McGraw Hill Recharge
Smartbook. https://learning.mheducation.com/static/awd/index.html?
_t=1708338666137#/
Lindner, J. (2023, December 20). Single Mother Crime Statistics: Market Report & Data
• gitnux. GITNUX. https://gitnux.org/single-mother-crime-statistics/#:~:text=Children
%20from%20single%2Dparent%20families,success%20in%20the%20labor%20market.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
