A barrister can
return a brief because for private reasons he does not wish to have
anything to do with the case. It was Holymead's duty to do his best to
get Birchill off whether he believed his client was guilty or innocent.
Could Holymead have done his best for Birchill if he had believed that
Birchill was the murderer of his lifelong friend? Would he have trusted
himself to do his best? No, Holymead knew that Birchill was innocent;
he knew who the guilty man was, and, knowing that, knowing that his
action in defending the man charged with the murder of an old friend
would weigh with the jury, he took up the case because he felt there
was a moral obligation on him to get Birchill off. His conduct of the
defence, during which he attacked the moral character of your father,
was remarkable, coming from him--the friend of the dead man. As the
action of defending counsel it was perfectly legitimate. It gave rise
to some discussion in purely legal circles--whether Holymead did right
or wrong in violating a long friendship in order to get his man off.
The academic point is whether he ought to have violated his personal
feelings for an old friend, or violated his duty to his client by
doing something less than his best for him.
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