“Every person matters”

(A Reflection on the movie: “Bridge of Spies - 2015”)

The plot of this movie happened during the Cold War between The United States of
America and The Soviet Union. Being afraid of each other’s nuclear capabilities, both countries
deploy spies and try to hunt for them. The accused Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel was sentenced
to execution and a lawyer named James Donovan was recruited from his honorable law firm to
defend the accused Soviet Spy. Donovan as an insurance lawyer hasn’t practiced criminal law for
many years but as voted by the Bar Committee, he was chosen to defend the Soviet Spy and to
have due process. Rudolf Abel was convicted but through the effort of Donovan, he convinced
the judge to sentence him to prison rather than execution. One thing we can get from Donovan’s
attitude is that he never abandons people who deserve to be heard and have due process. Just
like what he did to Abel, despite the fact that he is not an American and he is accused to be a
threat to the United States, he still thinks of himself as a person who deserves justice. For
Donovan, “every person deserves a defense, every person matters”. He did justice to Abel even
though people would mock him and think of him as an accomplice of the accused. But because
of convincing the judge to forgo the execution of Abel, they soon use this opportunity to swap
Abel for U-2 spy pilot Francis Power who was shut down by Soviet missiles over their territory
and was taken as a prisoner. Believing in the capabilities of James Donovan, the CIA summoned
him to negotiate and exchange the two spies. During the negotiation, an American student
named Frederic Pryor was arrested for trying to get her girlfriend on the border of East Berlin and
bring her to the West of Berlin. Here Power is a prisoner of the Soviet Union and Pryor is a
prisoner of the German Democratic Republic. Donovan, being true to his principle that “every
person matter”, added the student to his negotiation even though Power was his primary
objective. Later on, he hurdled and put his life in danger just to get both men and bring them
home safely.
I want to highlight that during all of the conversations, Donovan's wife and children were
completely unaware of what he was doing. In the belief that it would be healthier and safer for
his family, Donovan made the decision to keep his work a secret from them. I find it intriguing to
consider Donovan's mentality when he chose to conceal his role as a middleman from not just
his family but also the rest of the nation until after everything had been settled. Despite the fact
that there is no specific rule requiring lawyers to be truthful with their families, every husband
still has a duty of loyalty to his wife. Donovan must have struggled to keep his work from his
family, especially when it put his life in danger. He had to lie to his wife, Mary, about his European
travels. Donovan clearly did this to protect his family after previous events, such as the shooting
at their home, made it clear that Donovan's work was affecting his family's safety. Donovan may
have had to conceal his work at the same time for the sake of his client, Abel.
Putting this situation as a law student, Canon 15 of the Code of Professional Responsibility
states, “A lawyer shall observe candor, fairness, and loyalty in all his dealings and transactions
with his clients.” Donovan's motivation for his actions was obviously not financial gain, fame, or
glory. He took action because he was certain that was the proper course to take. Donovan
encountered several obstacles throughout the movie, which put his commitment to act morally
to the test. Many times, Donovan might have chosen to ignore the situation or take the simple
route, but instead, out of loyalty to his client, his country, and the law, he persisted in the face of
overwhelming obstacles. Donovan stood up for what is right, unlike other characters in the movie
including Donovan's partner who brought him to the case, the prejudiced judge who openly
ignored the rights of the accused, and agent Hoffman who was more focused on finishing the job
than trying to save a life. Section 20(a) of Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court provides that it is the
duty of an attorney has a responsibility to uphold the Republic and its constitution. Contrarily,
subsection I of the same section states that it is also his responsibility to "present every defense
that the law permits in the defense of a person accused of a crime, by all fair and honorable
means, regardless of his personal opinion as to the guilt of the accused, to the end that no person
may be deprived of life or liberty, but by due process of law." Donovan made the decision to do
the latter, for which he received a lot of backlashes as people perceived him as a traitor. But by
opposing a dishonest justice system, Donovan upheld his responsibility to his client as well as to
the law and the constitution. It is then a call for all aspiring lawyers like me to dream not only to
become the best lawyer but also a lawyer who cares for the people and for society. A lawyer who
does not only look and care for himself but a lawyer who believes that every person matters.