Likewise, which do I trust more: trial lawyers or doctors? What does that mean? Which is more honest? I expect both are on balance roughly equally honest, just like most professional groups are on balance roughly equally honest.
I dunno. In general, the goal of a doctor is always the same - to heal. In general, the goal of a trial lawyer is always the same - to win, ie., to get his client acquitted. Whether that client is innocent or guilty. So, in essence, dishonesty is built into the adversary legal system, because the lawyer - say, Johnny Cochran - is rewarded for what is essentially an act of dishonesty: helping a criminal to evade or escape justice.
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I don’t trust either. Have you read Montaigne’s criticism of doctors? (Paraphrase from ancient memory) “Their mistakes lie buried and out of sight and those whom they cure were often cured by nature”.
I have often heard it said that doctors kill more people than guns do (yeah, I know, guns don’t kill …).
Lawyers may bamboozle a jury in order to get the guilty off, but they are not at such a risk of being sued for malpractice. A doctor who makes a mistake has a strong incentive to cover it up, and they have as cozy a collegial ‘old boys club’ as exists.