JC Master: A Lawyer’s Story | From Police Badge to Scales of Justice: The Journey of a Legal Professional Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

Just now, as I stood at the defense table in the criminal courtroom, I reached to adjust the badge on my chest—only to feel the crisp fabric of my suit. For a moment, I was disoriented; habits forged over ten years, day in and day out, are not so easily shed. Transitioning from an on‑the‑frontline investigating detective to a criminal defense attorney has not only reshaped my professional path but has also redefined my understanding of the very essence of the law.

I. The Fission and Rebirth of Occupational Genes

During my participation in the criminal police force’s special campaign to eradicate organized crime and evil forces, I once kept watch at dawn from a van parked across from a suspect’s residence, meticulously documenting every comings‑and‑goings and leaving no clue unnoticed. Today, confronted with similar circumstances, I still find myself rushing about in the early hours—only now, it is to pore over the case, dissecting its ambiguities and refining my defense strategy. The perspectives of investigators and defense counsel are like two sides of the same coin: the former focuses on “how to prove guilt,” while the latter is devoted to “how to dispel reasonable doubt.”

The growing pains of this shift in thinking have been particularly pronounced in recent cases involving the crime of organizing and leading pyramid-scheme activities. When confronted with evidence chains submitted by the police that closely mirrored the investigative procedures of years past, an instinctive urge to identify evidentiary loopholes clashed sharply with lingering professional habits—only after repeated scrutiny of criminal‑evidence rules did it become clear that what had once seemed routine, such as a “statement of circumstances,” could, in courtroom cross‑examination, constitute a procedural defect.

II. The Evolving Role of the Rule-of-Law Spectrum

When I was receiving a client, the tattoo on his arm made me instinctively tense up—something that had once been a key feature of interest in investigative work. Yet as he spoke with righteous indignation about how he had been wrongly accused, I suddenly realized that the skin beneath that tattoo, too, is entitled to the right to defense guaranteed by law. This shift in perception was like emerging from a cocoon, freeing me from the rigid mindset of criminal profiling.

In handling a case involving the sale of counterfeit and substandard goods, it was discovered that both the key administrative determinations and the expert opinions contained procedural defects of varying degrees. These details, which had been overlooked during the investigation, became the linchpin for advancing the defense after being subjected to cross-examination in court. At that moment, I seemed to truly understand why the Criminal Procedure Law enshrines the standard of proof of “beyond a reasonable doubt”—for the truth is sometimes concealed within the folds of procedural justice.

III. A Dialectical Inquiry into the Myth of Justice

Sometimes, when confronted with the question from a victim’s family—“You used to be a police officer; how can you still defend the wrongdoer?”—I choose not to argue, adopting their perspective. Deep down, I understand that the strict adherence to the law during my time as a police officer and the principled advocacy in my role as a lawyer are, at their core, both acts of safeguarding the spirit of the rule of law—like two banks of a river, together shaping the course of justice. Perhaps the true essence of the legal profession lies precisely in allowing its diverse roles to fulfill their respective missions within the framework of the rule of law.

Today, as I pass by the police station where I once worked, the police badge still gleams in the sunlight. The shift in my professional identity has brought not only a change of career path but also the piecing together of a more complete intellectual framework for a legal professional. Even now, when the judge strikes the gavel, I instinctively straighten my back—this occupational habit, forged during my time in the police force, may well be the finest legacy of my faith in the rule of law. On the scales of justice, the weights of our various roles will ultimately find equilibrium at the fulcrum of procedural fairness.