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“Governments can be oppressive,
so they should have the burden of
proving to 12 people that a person did
what they are accused of.”
The author at work in Portland.
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himself. But he says that views expressed by at least two characters
on the importance of providing the best defense possible to
those accused of truly heinous crimes do reflect his own views.
He explains that he gained an appreciation for the American
legal system when he was a Peace Corps volunteer in a west
African dictatorship.
“It’s very important to give the worst person a fair trial,
because if that type of person can get a fair trial, then when
average citizens are arrested they feel they can get a fair shake,”
he says. “When citizens lose faith in the system, that’s when
you have revolution. So you work your butt off for bad people.
Maybe you’d pull the switch yourself, but you make sure if they
are convicted, it is by the system following the rules. It’s worse
for the government to break laws to get a conviction than for
an individual to do a heinous act.”
“Governments can be oppressive, so they should have the
burden of proving to 12 people that a person did what they are
accused of,” he says. “It’s better that nine guilty people go free
than one innocent person goes to prison.”
After the five consecutive books became best sellers,
Margolin stopped practicing law in 1996 to write full time. But
he still uses his law office.
“I loved being a lawyer,” he says. “Writing is fun. Law is fun
too, but law is serious. I did 12 death penalty cases. If I messed
up, someone died (none of his clients were sentenced to death).
… There’s a medicinal value to a good book, but it’s not like
saving a human being from life in prison. It puts writing in
perspective.”
Of the Jewish adage that saving a life is like saving the world
entire, he says, “If that’s true, I’ve saved the world a number of
times.”
His only Jewish characters are attorneys Amanda Jaffe and
her dad, who are featured in four of his novels, and their Jewish
identities are not integral parts of any of the stories.
Margolin says Judaism does not play a major role in his
own life. He says he considers himself a “gastronomical Jew”
who misses the chopped liver and pastrami that were so readily
available where he grew up in New York.
Though the family always celebrates Passover with a seder,
they race through it “at the speed of light.” But he says they
always include The Four Questions and the hunt for the afikomen
for his two grandchildren. He says he used to join his wife,
Doreen, for High Holiday services at Congregation Beth Israel,
but has not gone since her sudden death from an aggressive
cancer in January 2007.
“When Doreen died, I did find the rituals comforting,” he
notes. “Rabbi Rose and Cantor Schiff were very helpful.”
Even more helpful was the support of his two adult children
24 JULY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE