Well he isn't a Norwegian Founding Father, but Geir Lippestad, a Norwegian lawyer and the Labor Party supporter, sounds something like John Adams in explaining why he agreed to represent Anders Breivik, the man who has confessed to the bombing of Norwegian government buildings and the killing of scores of young people participating in a Labor Party youth summer camp. From a Reuters report:
"Someone has to do this job," the lawyer told a news conference. Lippestad, who received Breivik's request through the police the day after Friday's bombings and shootings, said he spent 10 to 12 hours making up his mind before agreeing to accept the case as a matter of principle.
"My first reaction was that this was too difficult," he said. "But then I sat down with family, friends and colleagues and we said that today is the time to think about democracy, and if I said no to this job, then I would say no to democracy."
Here's a link to a BBC interview with Lippestad.
