As a female defence lawyer, I’m not betraying women when I represent clients accused of sexual crimes

Archived version: https://archive.fo/79eB3.

>Most female defence lawyers, myself included, are familiar with what critics often say about the kind of work we ought to do — or ought not to do. Of course, we’re used to the widespread stereotypes about criminal defence lawyers in general, but then there’s the added layer of gender discrimination that comes with being a professional woman in our society.

>The idea that female lawyers who defend their clients’ interests, as they have sworn an oath to do, are somehow traitors to their sex or gender is mistaken. I could also write whole essays on the blatant misogyny behind the assumption that men accused of sexual crimes hire women to defend them only to “hide behind” their “skirts,” as [the Star columnist Heather] Mallick put it, rather than to benefit from their intellectual and professional expertise (not to mention the notion that female lawyers might take such cases in part to pay their “wine bill”).

>I’m not only a criminal defence lawyer; I’m also a woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, two demographics that are significantly underrepresented in the legal profession and overrepresented as victims and complainants of sexual offences. Before I became a lawyer, I did social work with women and children fleeing intimate-partner violence, as well as with vulnerable sex workers. I’m no stranger to the pervasive problem of sexual violence or to the ways in which the patriarchy continues to oppress and degrade women of all demographics. I understand the emotions involved here, and I understand the negative reactions to women who appear to support those accused of sexual crimes.

>But the fact is, the foundational principles of our criminal justice system — including our Charter right to the presumption of innocence — apply to everyone, regardless of who they are or what they’ve been accused of. You need only look south of the border to see what can happen when a government starts to pick and choose who gets due process and who doesn’t. Either we all have rights, or none of us does.

>It’s worth remembering that when it comes to crimes involving sexual violence, the penalty is usually jail, and jail is huge: It’s depriving someone of their liberty. It’s putting a human being in a cage. It’s a punishment that we shouldn’t take lightly, that we should mete out only to those whom we have determined, via due process, should be there. A bare, untested allegation is not and cannot be enough to impose such a punishment on any member of Canadian society, and the trial process is crucial to ensuring that no one’s liberty is taken away over a whim or lie.

>The job of a defence lawyer — no matter their sex or gender — is thus necessary for a free and democratic society to function. Defence lawyers stand against the state to ensure that a conviction is obtained only after a fair and impartial trial and to advocate against wrongful convictions. Someone has to do this job, otherwise we may find ourselves on a slippery slope, our rights eroded. And it takes deep wells of compassion to stand next to someone who’s facing among the most serious criminal allegations our society understands and see them as a person worth defending. After all, it’s not a lawyer’s job to pass judgment.

>These are just some of the reasons that I choose to represent clients accused of sexual offences — and none of them has anything to do with the cost of wine.

Further reading:

[Why women lawyers represent men accused of sexual crimes – The Criminal Lawyers’ Association (CLA)](https://criminallawyers.ca/why-women-lawyers-represent-men-accused-of-sexual-crimes/)

[Why Gender Shouldn’t Determine a Lawyer’s Cases – Bytensky Shikhman Criminal Lawyers](https://crimlawcanada.ca/why-gender-should-not-determine-a-lawyers-cases/)

[Prosecutorial Independence and the Rule of Law – Ontario Crown Attorneys Association](https://www.ocaa.ca/prosecutorial-independence-and-the-rule-of-law/)

[A judge draws a necessary line in the sand – The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-hockey-canada-sexual-assault-trial-verdict/)

[Analyzing Justice Maria Carroccia’s Hockey Canada verdict – The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-analyzing-justice-maria-carroccias-hockey-canada-verdict/)

[Why do female lawyers represent men in sexual crimes? – The Star](https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/why-would-female-lawyers-represent-men-in-sexual-crimes/article_9acde788-f606-452b-974e-5edd315f7b03.html) [Heather Mallick’s piece]

!ping Law

Anybody who thinks a female defence lawyer is a gender traitor is brain dead fr. The right to counsel is fundamental. Full stop. It’s crazy that people see an acquittal and think the problem is the *defendant* rather than the Crown and police.

This isn’t even a case where the defence got off on a ‘technicality’ and some clever lawyering. I’m sure their lawyers did a great job ect… But there were obvious flaws with the underlying accusations.

It’s a good the accused had lawyers to help assert their rights against a spurious prosecution.