In a few weeks, once he has completed his studies at the University of Ottawa's Law School, Malcolm McRae will be off to Toronto to work for the defence. His fiancee will join him in Hogtown, to work for the Crown. Sparks, one assumes, will fly.

Okay, so it's been done. On TV as well as in films. And, as McRae explains, the relationship between the two parties is not as adversarial as one might expect it to be.

"Once you get into criminal law," McRae observes, "both sides are open-minded. No one wants to see innocent people in jail. And each of us has worked for both sides. We envision coming back to Ottawa one day and running our own firm."

For now, McRae and fellow students are focused on addressing that matter of ensuring that innocent people are not in jail, through a volunteer group known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted (AIDWYC). Tomorrow, they will stage an ambitious benefit at 221 Rideau St., encompassing bands downstairs at Mavericks, as well as DJs upstairs at Cafe Dekcuf.

It will be the second year for what McRae hopes will become an annual fundraiser. And proceeds will enable the association and its sister organization, The Innocence Project, to defray some of the considerable costs of researching cases involving claims of factual innocence.

"None of us can imagine that it's ever possible for an innocent person to be convicted," McRae says of the cause, "until it's us."

It happens. And the association has played a direct role in bringing to light issues surrounding such notorious convictions as those of Steven Truscott, Romeo Fillion, Donald Marshall Jr. and David Milgaard. Today the organization, born 14 years ago out of a determination to continue the work of the Justice for Guy Paul Morin Committee, is active in four provinces, with some 30 lawyers and dozens of students poring over files and evidence in Ontario alone.

Spread the word

McRae, a native of Carp and graduate of Sir Wilfred Laurier University's business program, has been involved with AIDWYC since 2005.

"When I started at Ottawa U, no one was aware of the association. We've had to work hard to try to put it on the map."

Which, of course, is where events such as tomorrow's show come into play. McRae proudly reports last year's concert raised about $2,600. He anticipates a better return this time.

"It's not the most common charitable event," McRae says of the cause, "but it's an easy one to put on. And it's a chance for us to spread the word about AIDWYC. It's not necessarily exciting, but it's rewarding. And it's important."

It's also, of course, a labourious process. McRae admits the association is working on three murder convictions but has only amassed one complete file. That file, he estimates, consists of more than 8,000 pages of information.

"We can't bring cases to court ourselves," he says. "Only a lawyer can do that. But when you bring a case to court, they want to see everything. And getting that together is very time-consuming, and very expensive. There's no process in place for independent reviews of such cases, and the bulk of society's money goes to obtaining convictions."

Fortunately, criminal lawyers are open-minded. More so, perhaps, than what we see on TV.

"It's not quite like it is on TV," McRae says with a laugh. "But I still watch Law & Order every week. Jack McCoy delivers a better closing than anyone."

Of course, Jack McCoy does not send innocent people to jail -- another sense in which, sadly, TV does not echo reality.