Beyond the rule of law Protecting the undeserving

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has made an effort to rebut the thick speculation about himself, damage-controlstrying to defend the indefensible to draw away some of the terribly negative attention from himself

 MAHATHIR MOHAMAD TO ESCAPE SCAM.CREATE another scam evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail if there is a question mark over the ability of the AG, the PM can ask him to resign and “if there is any wrong doing by Gani, the PM can advice the King to set up a tribunal to try the AG”.Scam as theatre slaying of Tan Sri Abdul Gani PatailMat Zain has been “consistent” with his allegations.

PAS Youth’s Ahmad Zamri Asa’ad Khuzaimi, said considering the people who attended the meeting with Mahathir “it appears that the revelation to the media is to put pressure on Gani and his boss Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak”.why is Mahathir involved? Is he “going after Gani”?  former PM and the AG enjoy good relations. but now”out to get” the AG someone stepping on someone’s toes.So A-G Gani Patail  stepping on Mahathir toes.There’s also this talk of the AG becoming too powerful for the powerful – thus this “attempt to get rid of him”. Again, nothing to back it up as to who ‘the powerful’ are and what big cases are being pursued. with evidence of criminal wrong doing by the AG Mahathir  must be responsible enough to lodge police reports and stand by the allegations, said Abu Talib

Lawyers for Liberty co-founder Eric Paulsen, state institutions like the police, the AG’s Chambers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are not free from political interference and as such, police reports if any, made against Gani “will come to nothing”.

Different scams, different times and different key dramatis persona

So the next big question – why? As to why all these “things” are hurled at Gani. With all the central figures” keeping mum, theories a-plenty, as said earlier. One such theory”  suggests a move against Mahathir.Sometimes, the formidable morphs into the pathetic. For a long time,  A-G Gani Patail with its potent combination Mahathir with its potent combination of powerful interests seemed to carry such sweeping and overwhelming force that it looked to be above any challenge, criticism or scandal.

Sen. Arlen Specter, the late Senator from Pennsylvania, wrote in his book ‘Life Among the Cannibals’ that his son Shanin had “an absolute standard – do what you think is right- and (he) never deviated from it. Not ever.”

Part-time professor and full-time trial attorney, Professor Shanin Specter attempts to pass on that ‘gold-standard’ of principled advocacy to his students at Penn Law. Every Wednesday evening, Specter lays threadbare the secrets that have led him to become one of America’s finest lawyers; and perhaps the most respected as well.

As a student of his class and an attorney originally qualified from India, I’ve come away fascinated by his approach in class. It was absolutely nothing like what I had expected.

Successful senior lawyers in India rarely engage with students, let alone teach semester-long classes as Professor Specter does. Practical skills like the actual mechanics involved in conducting a trial, strategies to deal with tough judges and uncooperative opposing counsel etc., are expected to be learnt on the job by observing one’s senior. However, there’s no guarantee that the senior lawyer will take the time or effort to teach the nuances of court-craft and the procedural tangles that accompany a practice in litigation. On the contrary, in India these ‘valuable skills’ are closely guarded trade secrets, passed down to a privileged group of second or third generation attorneys. It is literally an ‘old boys’ club’ for an elite and fortunate few. More often than not, this means that newly-minted lawyers are apprehensive about this career path and choose simpler options that the field offers. In the process, they miss out on the core of the profession – namely, advocacy.

Having enrolled for his class expecting a nuts & bolts primer on the procedural aspects of trial advocacy, I was in for a pleasant surprise. No two classes were similar, or even predictable. To demonstrate, for instance, what a top-notch closing speech ought to be like, the class was treated to the Montgomery County DA’s awe-inspiring speech from the tragic child-abuse case involving Jerry Sandusky. This is the professor’s idea of ‘routine’ in his class. No surprise then, that his class is always packed, students hammering away at their laptops, diligently taking notes. Being in his class though, is not easy. Keeping pace with the professor’s intensity was a stressful, albeit rewarding experience for me. It becomes clear that there is an intellectual giant in the room – and if you haven’t kept up with the readings, which can be immense, you might miss some of the finer points being made.

But then, one might ask, what’s the big deal about a great professor or an engaging class? After all, we’ve all experienced excellent teachers at some point or the other in our lives. True. But this class was a big deal for me,because where I come from, the ‘rule of law’ and the promise of its enforcement are sporadically interspersed amongst the various other travails of life. Justice is often a luxury reserved for a select few who can afford to engage expensive legal counsel. On the other hand, Professor Specter, to me, represents an idea that success and altruism needn’t be mutually exclusive of each other. Despite being at the zenith of his profession, he never allowed himself to become so ‘out of reach’ as to not be able to engage with stock novices in the law. Neither does he treat his accumulated wisdom and experience as patented goods, beyond the reach of others. It is this same passionate intensity that he brings to his advocacy; caring deeply about the clients he represents and the injustice he wishes to fight.

And I believe there is an important lesson in that, especially for my generation.