Lessons from Hamlet

"But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourne
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action...."

Hamlet, William Shakespeare

We come to court and we look to the prosecutors for some glimmer of what we ought to do, gleaning from their countenance and their speech where they stand on the prosecution of this case and thus the move of ours which might be declared prudent. They seem cooperative, in some degree, but you understand that at bottom, they wish to find the accused guilty, no matter what the strength or weakness of their case. So you look to your defenses and try to appraise their value, then add to that what you know about the relative strength of the prosecutor's case, then you decide.

There is something to be said for holding to principal. And you understand that the ultimate good in a court of law is the finding of procedural truth, not ultimate truth. For that level of understanding lies only in the hands of the Almighty, as Hamlet might say. But when we look at the possibility of punishment, even when the ultimate truth is on your side, then it does, in fact, make cowards of us all. And we ultimately flee to that choice which seems more likely, rather than what in our hearts we know is true.

Your move, I believe?