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Oof. There's another attorney in this thread who seems genuinely unsure why we should be devoting time, effort or energy into people who are "obviously probabl

Oof. There's another attorney in this thread who seems genuinely unsure why we should be devoting time, effort or energy into people who are "obviously probably guilty". Genuinely unsure might be stretching it too. "Complex criminal defense cases where there's a decent chance the person may not be guilty should get resources, everything else? Eh." Like... Law School 101. That attitude in an attorney is genuinely disappointing at best, frightening at worst. I work in a field where "compassion fatigue" and burnout are very very real things (after you administer Narcan to someone for the third time that week, or you go to the home of the person who calls 911 at 3am because they stubbed their toe several days ago and now it has a hangnail that's catching on their bedsheets and making it "difficult" to fall asleep)... but being blunt - the day those feelings overtake you is the day you should consider what you are doing and why you are doing it.

tiahura 2y ago
It has nothing to do with fatigue. It has to do with being able to see rather obvious patterns when they're repeated 100 times a day, day after day, in courtrooms across the country. As an attorney, I will always fight zealously for my clients, that doesn't mean I can't form opinions about the system as a whole.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  > As an attorney, I will always fight zealously for my clients, that doesn't mean I can't form opinions about the system as a whole. The point of compassion fatigue is that when you start forming these opinions about the people you see, consciously or subconsciously, can you be as sure you are as zealously advocating for your clients as they deserve? I don't mean to impugn you, to be clear. But that's the thing in EMS too, how am I sure I don't dismiss a patient's complaint as whining, when it's the third time I've seen them that week, even if I take care of everything else they have going on? And how long is it before that compassion fatigue leads me to miss or overlook a pertinent finding that has consequences for them?

tiahura 2y ago

It has nothing to do with fatigue. It has to do with being able to see rather obvious patterns when they're repeated 100 times a day, day after day, in courtrooms across the country. As an attorney, I will always fight zealously for my clients, that doesn't mean I can't form opinions about the system as a whole.

FireBeyond 2y ago
> As an attorney, I will always fight zealously for my clients, that doesn't mean I can't form opinions about the system as a whole. The point of compassion fatigue is that when you start forming these opinions about the people you see, consciously or subconsciously, can you be as sure you are as zealously advocating for your clients as they deserve? I don't mean to impugn you, to be clear. But that's the thing in EMS too, how am I sure I don't dismiss a patient's complaint as whining, when it's the third time I've seen them that week, even if I take care of everything else they have going on? And how long is it before that compassion fatigue leads me to miss or overlook a pertinent finding that has consequences for them?