Have you ever had to stand up for something you believed in? Defend someone because you thought it was right, even though later you found out it was, in fact, wrong. In ABC’s “The Whole Truth” prosecutor Kathryn and defense lawyer Jimmy face those situations every episode.
In the first episode Jimmy is convinced that a teacher, who had given countless hours to help ESL students for low pay, would have never raped and murdered a young student. In the end, the jury found him guilty. When I was pondering this question about defending someone you thought was right, only to find out they were wrong I realized it can be a very mixed emotional feeling. I’m a loyal person, nearly to a fault, so when I stand up for someone I do it whole-heartedly.
At one of my previous jobs, I was good friends with someone who was later let go for non-performance. While I could never see him all hours of his work day, I thought for sure the allegation was wrong. It must be the upper supervisors who had laid off several other team members and seemed to work even less than any one else. I even got into a heated debate with another supervisor about the lay off. I just couldn’t see, like Jimmy, how someone who seemed so great on the outside could do something so wrong. The times I had been at his desk he had been busy working.
It wasn’t until months later when I was discussing it with a mutual friend that he said our friend who was fired finally admitted to him that he had been goofing off and not getting work done. I was shocked and disappointed. Especially after I had gone to bat for the guy!
In the end, I still believe the best of people, but I don’t know if I could handle the emotional stress of working as a lawyer… once every blue moon is fine by me!
Want to see both sides of the case? Watch “The Whole Truth” on ABC Wednesdays at 10/9 C.
I have been hired by Warner Bros WBWord division to raise awareness for ‘The Whole Truth.’
