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One of the foundations of our legal system is that persons accused of crimes have the right to the assistance of counsel (unless you live in portions of Texas apparently). Defendants are rarely capable of pleading their own causes. The lawyer must be single-minded in his or her devotion to the client's interests above all else. This week's episode of The Practice focuses on the importance of this attorney-client commitment.

With Friends like This . . .

Scott Wallace has had more airtime this season than have most of the lawyers at Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. This week, Wallace is again preparing to go to trial. Again, for murder. And talk about your speedy trial rights - Wallace gets a trial within only two weeks of being arrested! You may recall that last week, after threatening to shoot himself, Wallace decided otherwise and shot his employer - many, many times. Ellenor and Jimmy, who were in the room at the time of the shooting, are now witnesses for the prosecution.

Since Ellenor and Jimmy will be witnesses at trial, and Jimmy at least will testify that Wallace was sane at the time of the murder, Donnell is now no longer allowed to represent Wallace. Period. End of story. This was obvious, even to my seven-year old. If a defense attorney cannot commit himself or herself wholeheartedly to his client's cause, he or she must withdraw. In this case, there are serious and obvious conflicts that potentially would interfere with Donnell's efforts to advocate for Wallace.

For instance, Donnell might not be able to effectively cross-examine Jimmy at trial. Although he would have to try convincing the jury that Jimmy's perceptions regarding Wallace's sanity were mistaken, Donnell's employment of Jimmy could send the contrary message to the jury that he trusts Jimmy's judgment. Moreover, the prosecution would never agree to allow Donnell to represent Wallace. Where the prosecution's witnesses are employees of the defense counsel, there are obvious incentives for those witnesses to shade or alter their testimony to make it more helpful to Wallace.

To their credit, none of the other lawyers at Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt thinks this is even a close call. They vote 4-1 against continuing with the case. Then again, like me, they are probably sick and tired of Wallace anyway.

The Promiscuous Ex-Lover

The other lawyer with a conflict this week is Mitchell Reese. Reese is a former prosecutor and paramour of Helen Gamble. Reese has gone over to the dark side and is now a criminal defense attorney. Reese represents Kevin Macklin, a chemist who fell asleep at the wheel of a van and drove it into a telephone pole. Responding to the accident, the police found in the van a significant quantity of heroin and other drugs needed to produce methamphetamine. Macklin's defense is that he had no idea that the drugs were there. Somewhat surprisingly, Reese refuses to talk to Gamble about a plea bargain and insists on trying the case. Macklin knows he is in trouble. My seven-year old knew that Macklin was in trouble.

Following a break in the trial, Macklin requests to see Gamble and tells her that Reese is not representing him. Apparently, Reese has been hired by the nameless druglords who employed Macklin and owes them his loyalty. Part of Reese's job is to ensure that Macklin does not agree to a plea bargain that would require him to reveal information about the drug ring. This is precisely what Macklin wants to do. Gamble confers with Judge Kittleson. Kittleson appoints Eugene Young to represent Macklin and to help him work out a plea bargain.

When Reese is asked by Gamble and the Judge to identify the person who is paying for Macklin's defense, he refuses to name names. When brought before the grand jury and asked for this same information, Reese again refuses and is jailed briefly for contempt. (The show incorrectly made it appear that Gamble was the person who decided to jail Reese. In reality, and for obvious reasons, that decision is made by a Judge and not by a prosecutor.) Reese's loyalty to his unnamed clients goes for naught, as he is offed by them at the end of the episode.

The storyline involving Reese was frustrating because there was very little to support Reese's actions. As Macklin's attorney, he is supposed to put Macklin's interests above his own and above all others, and there is little justification for his failure to do that. This issue of dual representation is actually much more interesting than it was presented in The Practice. It often arises in the rather run-of-the-mill cases where an insurance company hires an attorney to represent its insured. In attempting to settle the case or in trying it, a lawyer is often torn between his or her duty to the insured and the desire to please the insurance company. While this slice of reality might have presented more troubling issues, it was not good TV, since relatively few insurance companies punish wayward attorneys by putting a bullet in their head.

Chopper, We Hardly Knew You

In the category of "nothing to do with the law" comes the continuing saga of bug-eyed William Hinks - clearly the most entertaining portion of the show. Hinks manages to violate his restraining order three times - once to get coffee at a Starbucks, once as a taxi cab driver, and once to kill the nice little doggie ("Chopper") he gave Lindsay last week. Hinks has great lines and a compelling presence. If there were only some way infuse the rest of the show with that stuff.

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