Black lawyers
hear from Rabil
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Members of the Winston-Salem Bar
Association heard from a local legal legend
Tuesday.
Attorney Mark Rabil. who is best known
for his successful defense of Darryl Hunt,
addressed the WSBA, the city's predominant
ly African American bar association, during
its monthly luncheon meeting at the
Piedmont Club. The co-director of the Wake
Forest University School of Law's Innocence
and Justice Clinic, Rabil has built a reputa
tion over the last two decades as a fearless
and highly accomplished defender, said
WSBA President Frederick Adams II.
"He has a passion and commitment to our
profession that is unquestioned." Adams stat
ed. "Of course, we know how important the
case of Darryl Hunt was and continues to be
to this community. I'm just glad to see the
work continue."
Adams added that the Hunt case and the
many entities that have been created as a
result, including the Clinic and Hunt's
Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice,
demonstrate how the silver linings can be
found in even the darkest of clouds.
"It shows that out of sometimes the
worst circumstances, good things can still
come out of it," said Adams. "It's tragic
what happened to Darryl Hunt, but the fact
that other people are able to be helped is a
wonderful thing. That's why I chose (Rabil)
as our speaker."
As a capital defender. Rabil travels over
much of the western part of the state, fight
ing for defendants who are rapidly running
out of chances to fight for themselves. It is
frustrating and emotionally draining work,
but Rabil says he cannot afford to walk
away.
"The individuals that I represent need
help against a system that generally is
stacked against them." he remarked. "That's
what motivates me."
Among those in attendance Tuesday was
Superior Court Judge L. Todd Burke, who
served as a clerk for Rabil in 1985. when
Hunt was initially imprisoned.
"Twenty six years ago. Judge Burke and I
were ... in the bullpen with Darryl Hunt,
waiting to see if he was going to be given
life or death," Rabil told the group. "It was
a moment neither of us will ever forget."
Burke, who spent time as a prosecutor,
said he has heard other prosecutors joke
about convicting innocent people. Rabil
urged the attorneys to look beyond the obvi
ous conclusions when viewing cases.
"Every time you hear about an exonera
tion, I just want you to stop and think
about, what is it that led to that travesty?" he
said. "If I can get people to stop and take a
pause every once in awhile, then that to me
is what justice really is. We spend too much
time listening to ourselves, especially us
lawyers."
Rabil, who has attended both national and
international conferences about wrongful
convictions, said that despite its high rate of
imprisonment, America affords its citizens
some legal luxuries that many of its contem
poraries do not. In America, the top reasons
for wrongful convictions include faulty evi
Fred Adams II greets the group.
Superior Court Judge L. Todd Burke
drives home a point.
dence and mistaken eye witness testimonies.
In many other countries, false confessions,
which are often coerced, are the chief factor,
Rabil said.
"In these other countries, they don't have
the adversary system that we have, which
does somewhat filter these things out," he
said.
Attorney Pridgen Amos said she first
heard Rabil speak alongside Hunt at UNC
Chapel Hill in 2004, while she was a sec
ond-year law student.
"I have a lot of respect for him and what
he did for Darryl Hunt," said Amos, a city
native and the WSBA secretary.
Hunt, who had only recently been
released at the time, made an impression on
her. Amos recalled.
"I was so impressed and shocked that
somebody that was wrongfully imprisoned
would even want to talk to people in the
legal community," she declared. "He was
such a gracious person to try to enlighten us
with his story so it could have an impact on
how we view our careers."
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Photos by Layla Farmer
Left: Well-know n local
attorney Mark Rabil
shares insight from his
decades of practice.
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