Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

An RSVP to Professor Wexler's Warm Therapeutic Jurisprudence Invitation to the Criminal Defense Bar: Unable to Join You, Already (Somewhat Similarly) Engaged

2007; Boston College Law School; Volume: 48; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

0161-6587

Mae C. Quinn,

Criminal Law and Evidence

This Article responds to Professor David 13. Wexler's recent suggestion that adopting Therapeutic Jurisprudence (V) principles to create a new type of rehabilitative defense lawyer could improve the criminal defense bar. Contrary to the empirical foundation of the therapeutic justice movement, many of his proposed changes seem unsubstantiated. Others, such as calls for creative plea bargaining, are already part of the practice of quality defense attorneys. The rehabilitative, -Pi defense lawyer may be overly paternalistic, imposing his interpretation of the facts and his standards of appropriate behavior on the accused; such a lawyer also may not comport with express ethical standards. Instead, the tradition of zealous and quality advocacy, whether in a law school clinic or in a public defender's office, best serves the interests of defendants. © 2007, Mae C. Quinn, Associate Professor of Law, University of Tennessee College of Law (mquinn3eutk.edu ). For offering tremendously helpful comments on this Article, I am most grateful to my colleagues Dwight Aarons, Ben Barton, Jerry Black, Doug Blaze, Joe Cook, Tom Davies, Iris Goodwin, Jennifer Hendricks, Glenn Reynolds, Dean Rivkin, Otis Stephens, and Paula Williams. Monroe Freedman, Kate Kruse, Paul Marcus, Michael Perlin, Jane Spinak, Tony Thompson, anti Bruce Winick also were most kind to provide their thoughts and feedback. My deep appreciation is extended to Randy Hertz for Organizing the first New Viirk University Law School Clinical Writers Workshop, facilitating the Workshop's Criminal Practice Group, and introducing me to my fellow participants Adele Bernhardt, Lily Carnet, and Kimberly Thomas, who, along with Professor Hertz, have provided important insights on earlier drafts. I also wish to thank the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) for allowing me to present an earlier version of this paper as part of the 2006 New Scholars Workshop; my SEALS mentor, Professor Arnold Lowey; fellow SEALS presenters Judith Barger, Adam Gershowitz, and Corinna Lain; and panel attendees, including my colleagues Joan Heminivay, George Kuney, Donna Luper, Carol Parker, Tom Plank, and Greg Stein. Nick Zolkowski and Tara Wyllie provided excellent research assistance. Special thanks go to Laura Rosenbury for her ideas on RSVP etiquette, and of course, David Wexler, for offering the invitation in the first place, reading and conunenting on a draft of this piece, and offering his continuing support of my work.