Public Defender
20th Judicial Circuit
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I am a Public Defender
I am the guardian of the presumption of innocence, due process and fair trial.
To me is entrusted the preservation of those sacred principles.
I will promulgate them with courtesy and respect but not with obsequiousness and not with fear.
For I am partisan; I am counsel for the defense.
Let none who oppose me forget that with every fibre of my being I will fight for my clients.
My clients are the indigent accused, they are the lonely, the friendless.
My voice will be raised in their defense.
I will resolve all doubt in their favor.
This will be my credo; this and the Golden Rule.
I will seek acclaim and approval only from my own conscience.
And upon my death, if there are a few lonely people who have benefited, my efforts will not have been in vain.
Jim Doherty
Public Defender
Chicago, Illinois