WA & ID: p.d. motörhead

Why not take a spin with this fast-moving member of the Spokane County P.D.'s Office? From Paralegal Gateway's Weblog:

Paralegal by Day - Motor Head by Night

By day, he's a paralegal with the Spokane County Public Defender's office. By night, his idea of fun is going fast and turning left. Yep, motor head. "It's what I do," said Post Falls driver Allen Tuckness...

Perhaps he would be willing to implement my sure-fire scheme to cut down the caseload - the Public Defender Car Repair Clinic. Think how many traffic stops (pretext or otherwise) and "consent" searches we could spare our clients if we could get to all those cracked windshields, broken tail lights, and wire-fastened license plates before the cops did.

It's not just a job, it's an adventure

Once, my kind were as numerous as the mighty bison and the migratory hippie, and we roamed the courtrooms of this land armed with our "liberalism" and our concern for the "underprivileged." Now the younglings are explaining to me this new path that we trod. From the law student at I Immediately Regret This Decision:

As of 8:30 AM on Monday I will be officially employed. I'm working for a local public defender but I don't know whether to be excited or bummed... What's funny about all this is that I hope to be a prosecutor once I graduate...

... to the guest blogger at Public Defender Dude:

First, to be a PD you have to kind of fall into it. The vast majority of PDs that I know in this day and age in California were not necessarily raised as "liberals" who like helping the "underprivileged," code in my book for minorities. That is something that happened in the sixties and the seventies. Some of those PDs are still around, even in my office. But not many.

No, where I am from the majority of PDs fell into criminal defense because they wanted a job and the PD hired. We have a number of people who wanted to work for the DA but couldn't get hired. We have a number who were civil and got tired of it and came to the PD. As I said, most just sort of fall into it...

... to keep my middle-aged p.d. head from shaking, I'm thinking of all the cool young lawyers who, rather than fall into indigent defense work, strive for it heartily and dive into it enthusiastically. I know they exist - I've worked with many, and hired a few myself. Others I know from reading their blogs.

"Skelly,"
P.D.
(something that happened in 1988)

Getting back on the horse again and again

A practicum with Iowa Champion:

Dealing with disappointment 101

One of the hardest things to learn as a defense attorney (or a prosecutor for that matter) is how to deal with a bad outcome in a case. It is not taught in any classroom at law school...

Empathy, patience, and a game of chess

Interesting perspective from a still - relatively - junior colleague, from Newsweek:

Equal Before The Law - As A Public Defender, I Must Often Challenge Prejudices, Including My Own, For My Clients

When I first started my job, I thought like a social worker. I justified representing those who were guilty because I believe I could help them... After two years, my conscience no longer requires such justification...

Actually, in 20 years of practice, internally I've travelled in the opposite direction of this p.d. Your (and everyone's) mileage may vary, of course.

Via the ABA Journal, Representing ‘Those People,’ Young PD Seeks Justice.

CO: heartbreaking loss

From the Daily Camera:

Public defender Cary Lacklen remembered as 'ferocious advocate' - Lawyer spent more than 30 years in public defender's office

Defense attorneys and prosecutors in Boulder and across the state have been left reeling by the death last weekend of Cary Lacklen... “He was the epitome of a public defender,” said Karen Pereira, the office manager for state Public Defender’s Office in Boulder. “He was the person who championed the poor. I don’t think there will ever be another like him...”

UT: old but good

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Legal Defenders chief Hill to retire

The longtime leader of the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, John Hill, announced his retirement Tuesday after more than three decades of criminal defense. "Well... I'm old," he explained with a chuckle, noting that he likely will split his retirement between homes in St. George and Island Park, Idaho...

(In the apparent absence of a proper Legal Defenders website, please enjoy these bonus links to Joe Hill (no relation) and The Pie pizzeria)

ID: IF seeks new p.d.

In Idaho Falls, Neal Randall's out; we'll know on Friday who's in, from KPVI:

Bonneville County Searching for New Chief Public Defender

What might you look for in a new chief p.d.?

"Somebody with good administrative qualities, somebody with the right temperament, you know, because you are dealing with public; you have to have somebody that can deal with people in a crisis situation, be sensitive to that and somebody that can provide adequate attorney services, you know, a good attorney."

I like to think that in my six years on the job in TF, I was admirably adequate, although just after I was hired, when one Boise friend of mine told another friend that the county commissioners liked my good administrative qualities, the other friend said, "our John?"

Update: it's Jimmy Barrett.

CT: superior p.d.'s

Gideon's right: this is a great story. From TheDay.com:

A Century Of Courtroom Experience Defending Poor Clients - New London's veteran public defenders have just about seen and dealt with it all

Choice excerpt:

”If you have issues with your self-worth or self-confidence, you're going to find it very difficult to prosper in a field of work where you're going to be continually misunderstood,” says (Peter E.) Scillieri.

Society's default method of evaluating something is to establish its price, says Scillieri. Many jump to the conclusion that if you haven't paid for something, it must be of little value. ”It bothers you when you first start out,” Haley says. “You try to talk to the client, telling them, 'I went to law school. I do this all day long.' But after a while, you get tired of explaining...”

A person could learn a lot from these guys.

MN: penny wise, pound foolish

From Minnesota Lawyer Blog:

Public defenders face losing 61 more lawyers

The public defenders in Minnesota have been hit hard by the Legislature which cut their budget by $1.5 million dollars for FY 2009. It looks as if a serious number of attorneys will lose their jobs...

See also KSTP:

15 percent of state's public defenders may be laid off

and the Star-Tribune:

Public defenders are put on list of proposed budget cuts - Financial woes and a tough economy could mean layoffs for more than 60; all 87 counties would be affected

And light a candle for our friend Accident Prone.

IL: "they reconciled their differences"

The p.d. news today concerns Cook County chief public defender Edwin Burnette. From the Cook County Public Defender Blog:

Rumors of his Demise Greatly Exaggerated

The hearing on the proposed resolution to remove Ed Burnette has been cancelled...

From the Chicago Tribune's Clout Street:

Stroger drops effort to fire public defender

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is dropping his effort to fire Public Defender Edwin Burnette, the public defender and a spokesman for Stroger confirmed Monday...

More news and links from Division Street.

CA: Sacto Sisyphus

From the Sacramento News and Review:

Guilty till proven innocent - Head Sacramento County public defender says the justice system is broken. Get used to it.

His mother went berserk, lashing out at the person who seemed most responsible for the outcome, her son’s public defender, who retaliated with her own outburst of anger. It was ugly. Similar scenes play out at the Sacramento Superior Court on a regular basis. There’s not too much Chief Public Defender Paulino Duran can do about it...

Listen up. This is Sacramento’s head public defender talking. You may need his services someday. He’s telling you our criminal-justice system is broken, perhaps beyond repair...

All the same, remember:

The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

NM: enough with the physical attacks on p.d.'s, now

From KOAT, Albuquerque:

Public Defenders Assaulted At MDC

Two members of the public defender's office are recovering at home Thursday night after being assaulted by a Metro Detention Center inmate, jailers said...

From KOB (with broadcast video):

Inmate attacks women at metro detention center

Two women from the public defenders office survived a brutal beating Thursday morning at the Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center...

This sh*t has to stop.

"The hardest step - the rest is cake"

A post that really reached me, from Doubtslinger:

As a public defender, you quickly learn to celebrate even the smallest of things. Today was just such a celebration. Today I retired my longest running client...

I'm lucky: I retire my clients when they turn 18. Luckily, many of them never graduate to the adult system.

A fistful of Faretta

From Minnesota Law Blog:

Public defender heroism in St. Louis County

It turns out we had a hero in our midst and most of us didn’t realize it. It is a little reminder... of the good work done by public defenders every day. In St. Louis County, public defender Mark Groettum was attacked by his client, who wrapped his arm around Groettum’s neck and punched him repeatedly in the face. Remarkably, the defendant then requested a new court-appointed lawyer...

Two consequences for such behavior (at least for Minnesota clients):

1. A criminal defendant forfeits his right to court-appointed counsel when he assaults his court-appointed attorney.

2. The district court does not violate due process by deciding, without an evidentiary hearing, that a criminal defendant has forfeited his right to court-appointed counsel when the defendant assaults his court-appointed attorney in the presence of the court...

PDF file of today's Minnesota Court of Appeals opinion in State v. Lehman here.

Minnesota Public Radio shares this colloquy from the trial transcript:

LEHMAN: Well, after what you have read, it seems to me most of them cases require repeated disruptions. That's one disruption.

JUDGE: I understand your position, and the one disruption was sufficient to cause the forfeiture based upon the vicious attack that you chose to engage in here against your attorney this morning.

LEHMAN: Aren't we assuming guilt there? Don't I have a right to a trial on that attack?

JUDGE: Ultimately you will, if there is charges filed, but you did commit the offense in the presence of the Court...

Update: perspective from a colleague who's been on the receiving end -
What protects the defender? A radical difference in rules

National Public Defender Radio

Recent interviews on NPR:

Public Defenders Have Their Say

Public defenders protect the constitutional rights of poor defendants charged with crimes. But they're overworked and under-respected. Farai Chideya speaks with Rick Jones — deputy director of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS) — and Brian Wait, Senior Public Defender in the Orange County Public Defender's Office...

Audio here.

And as lagniappe, here's the American RadioWorks documentary, Locked Down: Gangs in the Super Max.

CO: “I haven’t had a client yet that I thought was unredeemable”

From the Speakout section of the Rocky Mountain News:

Equal justice in Logan County and much more - The story of a public defender

Public Defender Mike Boyce’s demeanor is sure, his smile disarming. His deep intrepid voice is only slightly contradicted by his visibly shaking hands, “there is something wrong when you don’t get nervous, a lot of it is caring about your client,” he continues “if you’re not nervous, if you’re completely at ease, there is something wrong...”

Mr. Boyce’s compassion reminds me of a quote by the famous German author, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Treat people as if they were what they should be, and you help them become what they are capable of becoming...”

CA: 3 p.d.s walk out of a bar...

From the Record-Searchlight:

Three public defenders arrested outside club

Three Shasta County deputy public defenders were arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of starting a drunken ruckus with police officers at a Redding bar...

Lots of speculation in the comments, along with many of the usual insults, including the obligatory comparison to "real lawyers..."

Building a viable p.d. community in China

Here's an update from the International Bridges to Justice blog -

Criminal law classes, terracotta warriors, and visions of the future in China

- on the IBJ China defender program.

OR: "our clients (are) better off having come to us"

From the Oregonian:

Oregon public defender changed the system - Thirty-seven years ago, James Hennings started a movement in the interest of justice

James Hennings thought he'd stay two years when he agreed to start one of the nation's first nonprofit law firms for people who were accused of crimes but couldn't afford an attorney. Thirty-seven years later, he's finally ready to leave. Hennings, one of Oregon's most powerful and passionate voices for the down-and-out, announced that he'll retire at the end of June...

Gideon's trumpet

Rock star! Notoriety for our esteemed blogging colleague, from the Stamford Advocate:

Call him 'Gideon:' - Public defender's blog causes stir

Who is "Gideon?" That's a question mystifying criminal attorneys in Connecticut as the anonymous public defender's blog about legal issues gains readers in Connecticut and nationwide.

The blog, apublicdefender.com, is among a handful of legal blogs written by public employees - judges, prosecutors and public defenders, according to experts who monitor the so-called online "blawgosphere." Some wish the unknown author, who goes by the pseudonym Gideon, would reveal his identity; others say he is wise to cloak his name and restrain his opinions...

Poor Gid! (via Connecticut Local Politics, "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.")