The left decides who gets lawyers
...And who will determine what is “important”? Why Socarides, of course. The entire notion is at odds with the left’s usual defense of attorneys who represent all manner of heinous defendants. When conservatives merely wanted to know which Obama Justice Department attorneys had represented al-Qaeda terrorists the hollering was deafening. (McCarthyism! The right of legal representation!) When former White House counsel Greg Craig’s record of representing a long list of unsavory characters came to light liberals didn’t bat an eye.

The only ethical problems that would have excused King and Spalding’s withdrawal from the case would have been a conflict of interest (as the Gitmo attorneys encountered in switching sides to represent the U.S. government against detainees) or the absence of a viable set of facts or legal theory on which to base the case (which is not remotely in evidence here).

Frankly, the left’s unprincipled stance may come as a shock to the criminal defense bar. After all, don’t those people “defend murder,” under the left’s reasoning? ...