Bracketed by attorneys Craig Weintraub, left, and Jaye Schlachet, Ariel Castro awaits his Aug. 1 sentencing. (AP / TONY DEJAK)

Craig Weintraub (no relation) and Jay Schlachet, the lawyers who represented Ariel Castro, “the 53-year-old former school bus driver who kept Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive in his house for about a decade” have an exclusive interview in the Cleveland Jewish News. If you’d like to know what it’s like to be a defense lawyer in a big media case, read it. If you’d like to understand liberal Jewish faith, read it. Here are a few excerpts.

“Weintraub and Schlachet, who are Jewish, stressed that their faith figured in how they represented Castro in a case that ran 90 days from start to finish and continues to bring worldwide attention to Cleveland.”

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Despite the “sensational allegations” against him, Castro was entitled to counsel, said Schlachet. “We knew that we picked an unpopular cause to champion, and frankly, from a personal standpoint, I think it’s important to represent unpopular causes because, first of all, it’s what we took an oath to do, and it’s completely consistent with my Jewish upbringing. We actually did a mitzvah representing this man.” Continue reading →