But Monnat also is known for being a drummer who appears regularly at C. Major's Rockin' Daddy's. And his wife, Grace Wu-Monnat, is a popular martial arts teacher here who also works as Monnat's office manager and trial consultant.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

"I thought it would be a great idea to grow up and be the Lone Ranger."

But you became a lawyer instead. Any Lone Ranger qualities there?

"Well, I like standing up for the small person, the person who is different... the person who is demonized or outcast."

You became a musician at age 13. How did that impact you?

"As a young musician in the early '60s, I got some sense that merely by being different in appearance, such as by having long hair, you could be treated unfairly by some school and legal authorities."

How so?

"I would get kicked out of school for having long hair.

"When the police would come to school... to ask about sniffing glue... they'd come get me because I had long hair."

Did you ever want to be a musician for a career?

"I always enjoyed writing both in high school and as a musician.... I kind of wanted to find a way to communicate that better to people."

So you went to San Francisco State and got an English degree in creative writing. How did that translate to a legal career?

"At some point, I was writing a story about a character that I thought should be a lawyer.

"I learned that if you had good grades, anyone could go to law school. I could go to law school. The idea intrigued me."

So you went to law school at Creighton?

"Yeah. My parents were flabbergasted.

"I enjoyed studying, and I enjoyed communicating in person as a musician, and I thought, well, that would be a great combination — the scholasticism of studying law in your garret, if you will, and then going in the courtroom and presenting it in person."

How did you decide to be a trial lawyer?

"I really got interested in what they call the moot court program, which is when you have a hypothetical case and you get to argue it... as an appeal to a panel of judges."

And you were successful?

It "gave me for the first time the actual thrill of the courtroom, so I always knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer after that."

What's the best part of your job?

"The best part about the job is representing people who you learn to understand, whose life you have to communicate to juries. And the best part is when you learn that jurors in America are everyday, independent, caring, responsible people who will listen to the facts you bring them about your client's life and make very fair, thoughtful decisions. And the most impressive thing about the job is learning how much the average American cares about their duty as a juror and how independent and courageous they will be, frankly, in staring down the powers that be with their verdicts day in and day out."

And the worst part?

"I could tell you that it's the long hours. I could tell you that it was the people found not guilty finding the money to pay your legal (fees). But probably the thing that gnaws at me the most is that until they get in the jury box, the American public does not realize... how many innocent people are charged with crimes and forced to go to trial.

"It's actually shocking because until we see otherwise, most of us believe in a romanticized, home-spun yarn about our justice system. Namely that only guilty people are pursued and convicted or that the justice system doesn't make mistakes. The reality is that every day innocent people are subjected to injustice, and they need somebody to fight for them."

And that's where you come in?

"I'm not some kind of wizard with magical powers. I don't hypnotize the jurors into acquittals. My clients are not acquitted by some kind of hocus-pocus of mine. They're acquitted because they're innocent and the jurors can see it."

Did you have any hesitation about taking such a high-profile, controversial client as abortion provider George Tiller?

"No hesitation at all. Because from everything I knew, he was providing a service that women wanted and women needed and that was absolutely protected by the Constitution. As I got to know him and his practice better over the years, that turned out to be 150 percent true."

And you knew the risks, including possible physical injury to yourself?

"Particularly the day that Dr. Tiller was shot. I knew that Grace was on the ladder trimming vines on the house.... I jumped in the car and ran home and suggested she come (inside) because no one knew what was going on."

What goals do you still want to achieve in your career?

"Really, I'm pretty happy to have the opportunity to get up and do a job that I love, whether that's representing people in low-profile, mundane misdemeanor cases or that's in high-profile felony cases."

Do you ever get disillusioned?

"You can't be a human being and not be disillusioned by the fate of Dr. Tiller, but something like that more indicates the necessity of criminal defense attorneys than it does suggest giving up or going away."

Is music a release for you?

"Yes. You know, it's an opportunity every week to change identities a little bit, and I love the opportunity to play with the diverse array of musicians that show up at C. Major's Rockin' Daddy's."

You met your wife through studying martial arts. Since she's an expert, do you have to be careful around her?

"Well, let me put that this way: Her skills are so formidable that I know much better than to ever challenge them. That probably means I've learned the first lesson of Grace Wu martial arts principals, which is the most skilled martial artist never ends up in a situation where she or he would have to fight."

What's one thing no one knows about you?

"That I've been officially declared Grace Wu's most hopeless Chinese martial arts student."