The "Right thing to do"

  • Published
  • By Col. Ken Theurer
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Judge Advocate
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  During a recent office call, a visitor noted the large diploma hanging on my wall and asked why law schools have such large diplomas. I couldn't really answer why, other than perhaps it reflects that lawyers have large egos. My law school diploma hangs in my office both because clients expect to receive competent legal advice from a licensed professional, and because it is a reminder of an Airman I met years ago who taught me there is a difference between legal and right. 

In 1995, I was a fairly recent law school graduate and cross-trainee from my previous career as a navigator. Fresh from a brief stint as a prosecutor in the base office, I was excited to be the new area defense counsel. With my cardboard boxes of professional gear yet to be unloaded, the defense paralegal introduced my first client. 

The bare walls and disordered mess failed to impress the young Airman. Noticing my wings, the client asked if I was a "real lawyer" or if this defense job was an extra duty because I was grounded or in trouble. I immediately pulled out a hammer and hung my large law school diploma next to his chair. Apparently, this did not create the desired level of confidence because he proceeded to grill me on my "win/loss record." 

Exasperated, I told him I was undefeated in court against left-handed prosecutors on Mondays. Unfortunately for him, I told him, Mondays were travel days for military judges and the prosecutors I knew were right-handed. 

Several weeks later, the Airman returned to help prepare his case. My review of his file uncovered several evidentiary holes to exploit; I told him the case could likely lead to an acquittal. I thoroughly explained the "innocent until proven guilty" and the "beyond a reasonable doubt" concepts. He had a "right" to make the government prove the case. I was excited and expected enthusiasm -- I got confusion. 

Understanding his "rights" was not the problem he told me; instead, he wanted to know "the right thing to do." Not a question for which three years of law school and the bar exam had prepared me -- but it did force me to the realization that just because conduct is lawful or we have a "legal right" does not in itself mean it is the right thing to do. 

Over the years, clients often ask me whether their actions are legal or whether they will run afoul of the law if they select a course of action. Now, I answer the legal question and then ask the client whether his or her choice is the "right thing to do." I do this because obeying the law is not a course of conduct to aspire to, but rather a pass/fail floor beneath which we cannot allow ourselves to sink. Applying the Air Force core values -- Integrity First, Excellence In All We Do and Service Before Self -- on the other hand, will invariably lead to both the lawful answer and, more importantly, the "right thing to do."