Interview With Ezekiel E. Cortez of Law Firm: Client-Centred & Experienced - Essay Sample

Introduction

On Monday 21st, I carried out an interview on Ezekiel E. Cortez Law firm based at 550 West C Street, Suite 790 San Diego, CA 92101, U.S.A. The firm can be contacted through the following; email-ezekielcortez.com. Telephone number-(619) 237-0309/(619) 237-8052, the agency's primary mission is that it is a client-centred, highly experienced ethical and practical federal criminal defence law firm with a vast experience of litigation and trial both locally and nationally. I interviewed Ezekiel E. Cortez, the owner of the firm, who manages a staff of 20 people and couching several emerging lawyers. It is a Criminal Law Firm, which is a private or profit-making agency. The firm serves all kinds of clients who are faced with criminal injustices. They serve both local and national geographical areas, and they ensure that their clients have been fairly tried in the court and justice found. Some of the challenges faced by the firm include; technological changes, fixed cost in civil litigation, cyber insecurity and new competition on the legal market. The firm has formed various ways to interact with its victims for example, through emails, phone calls, and websites or on one talk. Lawyer Ezekiel meets his client after the defendant has been issued with summoning. During regular days when an attorney is not heading to court or an appointment, the time in the office is spent seeing clients, preparing pleadings, reviewing correspondence that comes in, and attending to other matters that need to be completed as part of representing the firm's clients.

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View of the Interviewee on the Role of Victims on the Pursuit of Criminal Justice

The interviewee had various opinions on the part of the victim to achieve criminal justice. He stated that victims are no longer allowed to control their cases by the law; thus, the purpose of victims is only to testify for the prosecution because most cases are judged without trials, and the victims are never allowed to share their part of the story as required (Furse, 2012). The defendants are only to participate in the proceedings informally by providing necessary information to the prosecutor about the crime.

Interviewee’s Opinion on Victim’s Rights and Reason for Non-Codified Provisions

The interviewee talked about the efficiency and effectiveness of the victim's rights per the law. Where he said that, both the federal and state government have drafted and passed laws that are meant to protect the victim's rights by giving them access to certain information, limited roles in criminal justice process and protection, and the victim's rights are based on the jurisdiction where the investigation of the crime took place and prosecuted, for example, state, federal, or tribal government. These rights are essential because it enables the victim to be, treated with respect, dignity, and sensitivity, every victim generally is supposed to be handled relatively and care when the law is being enforced throughout the entire proceedings, as stated in the constitution of most states. When judges are giving the final judgment, they should be allowed to tell the court how the judgment is going to impact their lives, for example, psychologically, financially, and emotionally. A statement from the victim can broadly impact the final decision that the judges are to make in terms of sentencing the offender or forgiving them. The rights also help in protecting the victims from intimidation, retaliation, or threats during court proceedings (Mears, 2010). This can be done through, police escorts, witness protection programs, relocation, and restraining orders. Sometimes the victim may be required to attend the criminal court proceedings.

Lawyers and other elected law officials believe that no consideration should be made in terms of codified provisions for victims' rights by the statute or court law because criminal offences take many forms and they do not necessarily have to be decided based on coded rules since the rights of each victim are clearly stated in the law and constitution. This makes it easier for various criminal offences to be solved without referring to the coded laws after a thorough investigation has been carried out. What is essential is the rule of law and fair trial for both the victim and the offender, as this will guarantee affair judgment and sentencing (Falk and ABC-CLIO, 2010).

Why Prosecutors Fear Engaging Victims in the Criminal Proceedings

Prosecutors fear to engage the victims in the criminal case proceedings because Prosecutors have political, legal, and administrative concerns that lead them to pursue some cases less vigorously than others, and other matters not at all. Moreover, the shared interest of prosecutors, judges, and defence attorneys in expediting cases and ensuring predictable outcomes, particularly in lower criminal courts, results in well-defined norms prescribing appropriate dispositions for common offences. Case similarities are stressed, while traits of cases, defendants, and victims are minimised. Court officials often believe that victim participation in the decision process would only reduce the predictability of outcomes and threaten their interests (Stuntz, 2011).

Interviewee Understands of the Crime Victim’s Rights

The interviewee stated that he had a vast understanding of the law concerning the victim's right to criminal justice. He had presided over various cases entailing different forms of criminal cases for over 30 years of his profession. He said that in the past, most victims suffered because most of their rights were curtailed, and the final judgment by the law officials was final. However, recently, that has changed as most of these rights have been mentioned in the law and constitution, and each victim has a right to know his rights before the proceedings begin. Historically, the U.S justice system was "victim-centric," which means crimes were usually investigated and prosecuted by the same victims. However, in 19th and early 20th-century criminal justice was shifted to act as a tool for social remedy and role victims in the proceedings drastically reduced. In the 1970s, modern Crime Victims began as a response to a decision which was made by Supreme Court in 1973 in the US in Linder R.S. v. Richard D. After the proceedings, then-president Ronald Regan, together with his team, recommended various victim's rights, which were to be included in the constitution in 1983. Since them, victim's right has undergone legislative successes, and Victims' Rights Movement those rights have been protected and adhered to under law (Kirchengast, 2006).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it the duty and obligation of every law office to ensure the rights of every person who undergoes a trial are maintained and followed during the proceedings. Victims must be protected with all means so that they do not hesitate or become threatened as this can easily affect their confidence in taking part in the case and court proceedings. And every offender is innocent until proven guilty; this means that they are entitled to fair trial and judgment in court.

References

Falk, G., & ABC-CLIO. (2010). The American criminal justice system: How it works, how it doesn't, and how to fix it. Santa Barbara, CA [i pozostale: Praeger.

Furse, M. (2012). The criminal law of competition in the UK and the US: Failure and success.

Kirchengast, T. (2006). The victim in criminal law and justice. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mears, D. P. (2010). American criminal justice policy: An evaluation approach to increasing accountability and effectiveness. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Stuntz, W. J. (2011). The collapse of American criminal justice. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap.