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Rank: Desk Jockey
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:57 am
Posts: 145
dangerousoffender wrote:
ZanarkandGabe wrote:
I find Phoenix to be inspirational. Phoenix's unorthodox ways of doing things are because of the fact that his mindset is not like that of a typical attorney. Hes not like Edgeworth or Godot[Francisca etc.] who are extremely well-versed when it comes to being an Attorney. Phoenix is just a normal guy who wants to help people. He represents how a lawyer should be...someone who does his or her best to find the truth and protect people even if it means losing a case.
Seriously? I think if
every attorney were like Phoenix, there would be nobody to defend criminals.
"The truth truth truth truth"
Look people, I know it's nice to "search for the truth", but an attorney is first and foremost a
SOPHIST. They use logic and reasoning as they please because their
duty is to
defend the rights of the people, not being politically correct!!
Hm... I disagree. With parts of both points, really.
I agree that: 1) Phoenix is unorthodox as a lawyer, even in-universe; 2) Phoenix wants to help people, whatever the cost; and 3) If every attorney was like Phoenix, there would be no one to defend criminals.
Real-world attorneys are businesspeople above all else. They don't have a duty to defend anyone's rights - they have a job to win cases for their clients. The truth of a situation is often less important than whose lawyer is a better practitioner, and to whom the jury is more sympathetic. Phoenix has the liberty to be choosy with his clients, and to turn his back on them if they turn out guilty; it's unfair to equate his circumstances with any real legal system.
I think you're misinterpreting the intention of ZanarkandGabe's post. They never said that
every attorney should be like Phoenix, simply that the world would be better if more lawyers (and possibly people in general?) had his ideals. They phrased it so that I can't entirely agree (as I said, Phoenix is certainly not a model lawyer in a real-world situation) but I think the heart of the matter is still valid: Phoenix is a kind soul who wants to help people, and wants to make certain that people aren't punished for crimes they didn't commit. It's not his methods that are inspirational, I don't think, so much as his ideology. He believes the best in people, and believes the truth of a situation is more important than his biases or his material gain.
Even in-universe, the legal system is against Phoenix. It works on a guilty until proven innocent basis, there are prosecutors using dubious means to get guilty verdicts no matter what - Phoenix has the faith and the guts to believe he can change that. He's not a product of the system, but an outlier trying to right wrongs.
And I don't know how you interpret "politically correct", but often lies are softer than the truth. I think the pursuit of truth is difficult both logically and emotionally - as human beings, we're prone to cling to what we know rather than branch out and deduce the cold, hard facts. If more people were so simultaneously kind, clever, and selfless as Phoenix, I think it's hard to argue that the world would be a better place.
TL;DR - Phoenix is not a model lawyer, but he does represent a certain idealism and doggedness that are respectable qualities to have. It's unlikely to even happen, but if the legal system were geared towards finding the truth rather than personal victory, the world would certainly be more just.