""No matter how unpopular the defendant, you have to defend them." (Interviews on civil liberties)"
Their Story
Picture this: a courtroom so tense you can almost hear the air crackle. Cameras flash. People hiss. The defendant is someone half the country already hates. And in walks Alan Dershowitz—calm, stubbornly prepared—ready to do the one job many people think is unforgivable: defend.
But the story doesn’t begin under bright lights. It begins in Brooklyn, with a public-school kid learning early that words can be weapons and shields. He studies while other kids drift. He argues when others stay quiet. What kind of teenager decides the best way to change the world is to learn how rules work—and how they break?
He climbs fast: Yale for college, then Harvard Law, where he finishes first. First. Imagine the pressure of that—every page perfect, every argument sharp. Yet the real turning point isn’t a grade. It’s a door opening into the highest room in American law: he becomes a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. In that moment, he isn’t just learning law—he is watching power, principle, and politics collide.
Then comes the part no trophy prepares you for: controversy. Dershowitz takes on cases that make people furious—Claus von Bülow, O.J. Simpson. Friends shake their heads. Strangers spit out his name like an insult. Criticism follows him like a shadow. Why would anyone choose this?
Because he believes a frightening idea: justice only matters when it protects the unpopular. He says it plainly, again and again: “No matter how unpopular the defendant, you have to defend them.” It’s not a slogan for him—it’s a test. Can you stand for fairness when it costs you comfort?
He writes every day, like a craftsman sharpening a blade. He debates in public, stepping into storms on purpose. And yes, he stumbles—accused, doubted, attacked for the clients he represents and the free-speech positions he defends. But he keeps returning to the same discipline: study, argue, refine.
So what can students learn from his movie-like journey? That courage isn’t always cheering in a crowd. Sometimes it’s standing alone, holding a principle while the room boos. If you want to dream big, remember his advice: “Study hard, argue fearlessly.” Then ask yourself: when the moment comes, will you run from the hard case—or walk straight into it?
Advice for Students
“Study hard, argue fearlessly.”
