Two tenets VanDreumel applies in both life and the practice of law — honesty and integrity — are values that come from her parents, who have been her biggest supporters and influencers. “They taught me to stand up for what’s right, even if I stand alone,” she said. Many tout our justice system as being the best, VanDreumel said, but she believes our system only works if every participant acts with honesty and integrity. VanDreumel noted that judges must remain independent and unbiased, and prosecutors and defense lawyers must abide by the rules of evidence, procedure, and ethics while upholding the protections afforded by the Constitution. Finally, jurors must understand that the critical decisions they have to make must not be swayed by emotion, bias, or prejudice. “Justice does not mean conviction for victims or acquittal for defendants,” VanDreumel said. “The system is designed only to ferret out the truth, so ‘justice’ occurs only when every person in that courtroom honors their respective obligations, regardless of the actual outcome.” VanDreumel says her most satisfying cases are those when the defense team has been able to bring clients facing the death penalty to freedom or simply to life imprisonment. Citing the more than 150 former death row inmates who have been shown by the Arizona
Justice Project to be wrongfully accused and sentenced to death, Van Dreumel said, “Whether one is labeled a ‘defendant’ or a ‘victim,’ every life matters.”
“Everyone accused of a crime – whether guilty or not, and no matter how heinous the offense – is entitled to the unyielding protection of every right afforded by the Constitution,” VanDreumel said emphatically. “Mediocrity has no place in our criminal justice system. A defense lawyer’s job is not to see that the client is acquitted, but rather to ensure the integrity of the process is not compromised.”
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