The complexity of criminal cases is exhausting and exhausting.
Criminal defense
attorneys face immense stress during legal proceedings and in the events that led to them. Some people have given defense attorneys a bad reputation for being dishonest, which can affect them in more ways than they think. Use of official websites.gov A. The gov website belongs to an official government organization of the United States. The results of our research can enrich current knowledge and understanding of this context and help to outline a policy that provides an appropriate professional response to legal professionals. A lack of understanding of these processes can hinder the defense of sex offenders and be detrimental to the mental well-being of defense attorneys who are supposed to provide them with legal services.
The lack of research in this field may be related to the perception that courts are based on logic and not on emotions, and that the work of jurists has a rational basis (Bergman and Wettergren, 201). For example, the customary norms of the legal profession instruct lawyers to separate ethical considerations from their professional practice, to support their clients with zeal, and to carry out their work without emotional involvement unrelated to their ability to achieve these objectives or their effects on them (Maroney, 201. However, even little research has shown that this population is exposed to emotional effects after working with offenders (Maroney, 201). For example, a longitudinal study conducted in Wisconsin verified the implications of exposure to traumatic experiences for the mental well-being of public defenders. Participants reported post-traumatic symptoms (PTSD), depression, and problems with daily functioning over time, beyond variables related to age, sex, and duration of exposure (Levin et al.
In light of the previously reviewed literature, the purpose of the present research was to examine how defense attorneys who represent sex offenders perceive their work and its effect on their own daily lives and mental well-being. This research is particularly important because it concerns the personal and interpersonal aspects of daily interactions between jurists and offenders, in general, and between defense attorneys and sex offenders, in particular. Raising awareness of the emotional and behavioral costs of working with sex offenders for employees of the legal system (in this case, defense attorneys) will help allocate resources to provide appropriate responses through appropriate training and professional support. The group of researchers consisted of 15 defense lawyers (eight women) who worked in the Israeli Public Defender's Office.
Their ages ranged from 36 to 50 years (M = 42, South Dakota = 4.6). They were all born in Israel and are Jewish. Nine participants reported that they were married and 2 were divorced, all of whom had children. The others were single without children (N =.
All had law degrees and seven also had a master's degree. All those interviewed had been working in the criminal field for years. Participants' professional experience ranged from 7 to 23 years (M = 14.80, South Dakota = 4.9) and all had at least 5 years of experience defending against sex offenders (M = 12.93, South Dakota = 5.3). As part of their work, they defended criminal cases representing a variety of procedures and crimes, including sexual offense cases, working 40 to 70 hours a month (M = 53.40, South Dakota = 9.9).
Each participant chose the place and time of the interview. All interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed. Prior to the interview, participants signed an informed consent form and received ethical approval from the University's Ethics Review Board. For ethical reasons, the names of the participants and other details were changed to ensure anonymity. The coding of the data was based on a qualitative analysis of the content, designed to identify the patterns and meanings of the texts and to collect and organize them into main categories and subcategories (Bogdan and Taylor, 1975; Creswell, 199).
In the first stage, an initial reading of all the interviews was carried out in their entirety, in order to give the researcher a broad and inclusive orientation and an idea of the totality of the data) .This was followed by a process of dividing the data into main categories and subcategories according to the themes characteristic of each category. To reduce possible biases, the two authors reinforced the analysis with a careful reading of the texts. During the data collection, and while writing the chapter, the authors agreed on the method of analyzing the data. The results consist of three main experiential categories and other subcategories derived from interviews with participants after being exposed to sexual crimes as defense attorneys responsible for providing legal representation to sex offenders in court.
The first category is primarily informational. It presents the characteristics of sex offenders, their distinctive character and the differences between their defense and that of other offenders, as seen by the participants. The second category focused on the positive and negative feelings evoked towards sex offenders. In the third category, the effect on the lawyer's emotional life and daily behavior was described.
This information, on a personal level, can help you understand how your occupation influences your daily life. Due to space limitations, we show categories and subcategories with a small selection of quotes. For ethical reasons, as is customary in qualitative studies, the names presented throughout this section are fictitious to protect the anonymity of the participants. In interviews, lawyers spoke about the difference between representing sex offenders and other offenders (1,.
They pointed out that the former have distinctive characteristics and that they often do not belong to the criminal world, so they require treatment (1,. As such, it is difficult to establish trusting relationships with them because of their characteristics and the nature of the crime (1,. However, most of the participants described the difficulties that accompany the representation of sex offenders. They are described as a population that often suffers from a pathology of personality disorders, as well as psychological and mental problems, so they need therapy.
For example, David noted that “a significant part of these people are on the spectrum of psychiatric and intellectual problems. In addition, Meital described sex offenders as “a population with therapeutic needs.” A population that has also suffered mental, psychological or social harm; its psychosocial development was greatly disturbed. Therefore, when they represent sex offenders, particularly those with disabilities (mental, cognitive, etc.). Most of the participants described a variety of emotional and behavioral effects that are the result of their work with sex offenders.
They reported a change in their worldview, leading to greater awareness of sexual abuse, the loss of naivety and the erosion of trust in others (3,. They also expressed concern that their own children or the children of their relatives could be victims. In addition to this growing concern, they described the measures they take to increase their children's awareness of the threat posed by sexual offenders, as well as the parental restrictions they impose on them (3,. Finally, participants described the emotional effect of working with sex offenders (3,.
All participants described the emotional and mental effects they experience as a result of their work with sex offenders. They described symptoms of emotional intrusion, detachment and avoidance, and sleep disorders, as described below. The participants tried to provide objective descriptions of their customers, which proved to corroborate the literature on sex offenders. They showed different levels of empathy, along with a deep understanding of their clients despite the terrible nature of sexual crimes.
As the interviews progressed, participants became increasingly comfortable with an open attitude, offering a more complex picture of their legal representation of sex offenders in the criminal justice system. The analysis of the interviews shows that the representation of sex offenders by defense attorneys is often ambivalent. On the one hand, they characterized their clients as generally intelligent people with no criminal record, which made it easier their representation. On the other hand, it was described that establishing relationships of trust with the defendants involved difficulties, although it constitutes an essential starting point for productive collaboration between the defense attorney and the client.
The complexity of representing sex offenders because they have mental problems and need treatment was also described. There is a broad consensus among therapists that sex offenders (particularly those with paraphilias) need treatment to prevent recidivism and harm victims (Stinson et al. This understanding is a challenge for therapists and a motivation to treat this population. In fact, the primary goal of those who treat sex offenders is to use this knowledge to facilitate appropriate treatment.
The results of the research show that the situation is different in the case of people involved in the legal system. The idea that this is a pathological population that requires treatment makes it difficult to defend the client and generates reticence on the part of the defense attorney. The participants described serious cases of abuse, in particular of children, that they found to be deeply worrying, causing a reluctance to represent those abusers. Even so, this self-perception was questioned to some extent, and occupational concerns often seeped into participants' daily lives.
As in previous research on the emotional effects of working with forensic populations on legal professionals (Maroney, 201), our findings showed that all participants had a fairly significant emotional and behavioral toll, which could endanger their mental well-being. Seeing the world as a dangerous place has a psychological cost. In describing their various symptoms, participants reported a high level of distrust, sleep difficulties and disorders, invasive thoughts that disturb their daily lives, and difficulties maintaining professional distance with their sex offender cases, even to the extent that their sexual relationships were negatively affected. Among other things, attempts to maintain emotional distance and avoidance were described as defense mechanisms against exposure to disturbing content that emerges from graphic descriptions of crimes.
An exceptional conclusion that characterizes several male participants is their fear of receiving false accusations, which is explained as a result of exposure to cases that they tried in defense of sexual offenders. Arguably, the topic of sexual harassment has attracted increasing attention in recent years (e.g., this assumption should be examined in future research).In conclusion, exposure to disturbing and graphic sexual offense case files has a significant impact on the emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physical well-being of the defense attorney. While most sex offenders are not characterized by antisocial or psychopathic personalities, their negative effects on the mental well-being of defense attorneys are greater than those of other offenders. Therefore, it is not surprising that most of the participants used defense mechanisms and techniques of emotional detachment, repression and avoidance, often unconsciously, as part of their way of coping with anxiety caused by their work with sex offenders.
Strangely enough, most attorneys ignored or weren't aware of the mental cost of this work. Due to their lack of knowledge, they showed little inclination to turn to mental health professionals. Nor did they express any interest in receiving individual or group guidance for emotional management. In the literature on exposure to sex offenders, the association between measures of distress and long-term therapeutic relationships is emphasized (Levin and Greisberg, 200).
Current findings show that this effect can also exist in other professional contexts, such as the well-being of defense attorneys who provide legal representation to sex offenders. Therefore, the impact of their exposure to sex offenders is similar to that of other professionals. For example, a study conducted in the United Kingdom found that health and social service personnel exposed to victims of human trafficking were more affected by the sexual trade and reported higher levels of distress and exhaustion than when exposed to other vulnerable populations (Kliner and Stroud, 201. The unique impact of exposure to sex offenders and their victims on the mental well-being of exposed individuals was also found among law enforcement researchers who investigated cases of child sexual abuse (Hurrell et al. Along with these conclusions, it should be noted that the current study has several limitations that must be taken into account when generalizing from the findings.
First, the research sample comprised 15 defense attorneys. Although this sample size is common in qualitative research, it is quite small. In addition, all of the participants were defense attorneys who represent sex offenders on behalf of the public defender's office. Public defenders have a support system that includes professional consultants and mental health experts.
While support primarily refers to legal issues that arise with regard to defense, rather than to structured and systematic guidance for dealing with emotional difficulties, this resource can help them in their work with sex offenders. The issue also needs to be examined more thoroughly among lawyers who do not receive the support provided to public defenders, who may be more seriously affected. Finally, it is worth examining the differences between the population of legal professionals according to their specific occupation, including comparisons between those who work in the criminal field in general and those who are exposed to sexual crimes, in particular, as well as other fields related indirectly to sexual crimes (for example, in cases of tort involving victims of sexual assault). Here you will find articles from the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, courtesy of SAGE Publications National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20894. The stress of being an advocate compounded for me because I became responsible for the results. El Trabalho of the public defender is fraught with obstacles.
I felt like everyone was against me. Prosecutors, judges and even my clients. There were times when I felt that a judge treated me badly just because I was “on my client's side”. To be a public defender and represent disadvantaged clients who already had so many cards against them from a social, economic and racial point of view; I internalized many of these factors that were beyond my control and accentuated my pre-existing feeling of not being good enough.
As a result, I redoubled my efforts to achieve successful results for my clients, probably thinking that I could prove that those judges or whoever were wrong about my clients and me. People often ask me what it takes to be a successful criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. It requires more than knowledge of the law. It requires more than having the ability to cross-examine witnesses who are on the stand.
It requires more than having the ability to negotiate. It requires more than just being charismatic. It requires more than just being able to make strong arguments. It requires more than just hard work. It requires more than empathy for your customer.
The United States Bar Association reports that one of the main causes of stress in the legal field is the pressure to consistently perform at a high level. Lawyers are expected to provide specialized advice, make critical decisions and work to tight deadlines, while dealing with constant demands from clients, colleagues, and the court system. This can lead to exhaustion, anxiety, and depression, all of which are very common in the legal profession. Carson Smith, assistant public defender with the Mecklenburg County Public Defender's Office in North Carolina, said he feels fortunate in the career path he has undertaken, but he admits that being a lawyer is often exhausting.
It wasn't that a defense attorney sat me down and gave me wise advice; it was something I observed in court. When I was a misdemeanor prosecutor, one day in court a defense attorney approached me and said, “Look, you made a very fair and reasonable offer, which my client should accept. For the sake of my mental health and my personal relationships, that may be the most valuable lesson I've learned from a defense attorney. To mitigate the stress and exhaustion associated with the legal profession, it's important for attorneys to prioritize personal care and work-life balance.
Unlike therapists, who acquire tools to deal with stressful situations as part of their studies and training, lawyers lack such training. The defense attorney must behave prudently both when talking to the client and when speaking to a witness and must know exactly when to stop asking questions. It's just that instead of “consulting” with my manager, I'm coming up with a solution that both the defense attorney and I can live with. These descriptions provide significant support for the emotional toll on lawyers and their subsequent distress. This was justified both by the defense attorney's obligation to act with loyalty and devotion on behalf of his clients (Israel Bar Association, 198) and by the legal obligation (Article 34 (of the Israeli Criminal Code) to tell the truth before the courts.
Another organization, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, provides services to private criminal defense attorneys, public defenders, military defense attorneys, law professors and judges.
