The Defense of the President’s Murderer

     EVEN before Czolgosz was placed on trial, several newspapers were demanding that he be given a fair trial, but that no technical points should be allowed to delay his conviction. If the law of the land insists that every criminal should be convicted only on the observance of certain technicalities, is it not the duty of a lawyer, appointed under the law to defend the criminal, to see to it that every technical point possible is raised in his favor? And is not the duty absolutely incumbent upon every lawyer who accepts such an appointment, no matter of what crime his client is accused or how certain his guilt may be? Happily, in the case of Czolgosz, the trial followed the course laid down in these newspapers, simply for the reason that there were no technical points to be raised. Reassuring were the words of Judge Titus, while he was considering whether to accept the appointment: “If I decide to act for this defendant, of course I shall do everything to protect his rights, and all that my duty as his lawyer requires.”