Sunday, March 26, 2006

People You Meet in Law School #12: The Ex-Cop

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate the crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.

However, some cops don’t see these groups as being equal at all. Sick of smug district attorneys making demands on their time, and tired of slick defense attorneys making them look foolish on the stand, some cops decide that if they can’t beat them, why not join them, and head off to law school.

The Ex-Cop’s adjustment to law school is sometimes a difficult one. At their old job, they were taught to see the world in black and white, while law school is one giant shade of gray. They abhor the fact that “maybe” is, at its essence, the correct answer for nearly every question in every class. The Ex-Cop usually regrets their decision early on, watching longingly as he sees a former colleague bully a 19-year old girl into admitting that she did, in fact, roll through a stop sign.

But the Ex-Cop will soon find a place where he excels: Criminal law. In crim, the Ex-Cop will sit front row center, a smug look on his face because he saw it all in his six years walking the beat in an affluent suburb. He is never afraid to add his two-cents to the conversation, or start a debate with the professor. “Let me tell you what it’s like out in the field,” he’ll say, as a black classmate shakes his head disapprovingly.

In all fairness, however, the Ex-Cop has one thing that 95% of other law students do not have: Real world experience. While the only time that Mr. Future Litigator had seen the inside of a courtroom when he came to law school was on a 6th-grade fieldtrip, the Ex-Cop knows how the real world of criminal justice works before he ever reads a case, and undoubtedly that is a huge advantage.

I think I should wrap this up, lest I further offend a group of people trained in hand-to-hand combat and who may or may not still own a taser. But one more thing, Ex-Cop: Please, shave the mustache.