Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at Lee@LeeSchroeder.com or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
In the legal world, facts are subject to a high level of scrutiny. When facts are important to a case, they will be disputed. The law is subject to interpretation as decided by judges, and in criminal cases and most lawsuits, juries decide the facts.
During a legal trial, witnesses often disagree about basic facts, even while under oath. The way we recall facts can lead to wildly different perceptions of the same event, and individuals are understandably defensive about their facts. Regardless, attorneys are ethically bound to represent each client with the same level of professionalism.
Our national political arena is full of arguments concerning “the facts.” Particularly in our part of the country, we are raised to believe that facts are indisputable and objective. Many times, people will ask for “just the facts; no emotion.”
In the legal world, facts are often disputed. I am in no way agreeing or disagreeing with various media and political operatives’ interpretation and arguments about facts and alternative facts. Nonetheless, facts are not always as objective as they can appear to be.
Read more about facts and the law in Lee’s article for the Lima News, “Legal-Ease: Facts, alternative facts and optical illusions.”
Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Facts, alternative facts and optical illusions,” by Lee R. Schroeder, March 4, 2017.