Chicago after dark

From timesonline.co.uk:

Bob Dylan on Barack Obama, Ulysses Grant and American Civil War ghosts - Listen to an exclusive track from Bob Dylan's new album, and read his views on US politics and history, exclusively on Times Online

Bill Flanagan: In that song Chicago After Dark were you thinking about the new President?

Bob Dylan: Not really. It’s more about State Street and the wind off Lake Michigan and how sometimes we know people and we are no longer what we used to be to them. I was trying to go with some old time feeling that I had...

IL: when a p.d.'s contorted with hate

Interesting stuff from Eric Zorn's Chicago Tribune blog, Change of Subject:

Standing up for rights isn't always pretty

Here’s a startling passage from author Kevin Davis’ new book “Defending the Damned ---- Inside Chicago’s Cook County Public Defender’s Office.”

“When I’m on trial and we’re in a truly adversarial proceeding, I hate the mother of the victim. I hate the father of the victim, I hate the children of the victim. I hate every part of it. It’s actually a terrible thing, but I can literally hate them when I’m fighting. I have to.”

The speaker is Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek...

Uh, about that self-justifying "you have to" ...

I have known literally dozens of defense attorneys and have never met one who felt this way. Hate the lawyers on the other side of the aisle? Occasionally. But hate the victim? Never.

And more from the comments:

* Ms. Placek's "hate the victim" view is not the standard attitude for members of the defense bar...

* (G)ive Placek credit for, at the very least, being honest about how she does her job. We need hardworking public defenders, but I don't believe we need them "hating" the children and wives of murdered police (or murdered anyone). I wonder if she reflects on the damage her words cause to a family that's already suffered a loss that no one should experience, or if that's just part of the game she enjoys so much...

* Yes, EVERY litigant--even a guilty defendant--deserves vigorous representation. But they are not entitled to my soul, my conscience, my values. By "hating" the victim's family, the system is compromised. It does not improve representation, it diminishes the attorney, the system and society. All of us are a little bit less when winning becomes so important that one person, one attorney, is willing to hate and revictimize innocent victims...

I'm starting a manslaughter trial on Monday, and somehow I don't feel any hate toward the victim's family at all. I hope you all can still respect me as a p.d.

NPR: "new book profiles public defender 'elite'"

At NPR (motto: "we here at public radio couldn't be more pleased with ourselves"), Talk of the Nation's website has streaming audio and a nice long excerpt from "Defending the Damned":

Author Kevin Davis discusses his book, Defending the Damned: Inside Chicago's Cook County Public Defender's Office. Davis shadowed Chicago's elite murder task force, the public defenders who represent accused rapists and serial killers who have the deck — and often the evidence — stacked against them...

Assistant producer Sarah Handel at Blog of the Nation is soliciting your comments:

If you're a public defender, what's the best part of the job? What was your wildest case (that you can share, of course!)?

IL: fire 50 public defenders, save Todd Stroger's private elevator

Law student Grace at Law with Grace is not impressed with the thinking behind the budget cutting in Cook County:

At first it seemed like the PD's office would refuse to comply. But they've had a change of ummm.... uhhhh...heart? Like, overnight. I'd LOVE to know how that happened. Suffice it to say that politics in Chicago are rarely as they seem...

Todd Stroger calls for a 17% budget cut of the PD's office. The PD's office complies, resulting in about 50 assistant public defenders being laid off.

A little something called Gideon v. Wainwright means that a defendant has a right to counsel. Currently, this is not something Cook County is exempt from providing its defendants...

More from Soapblox Chicago (nice Haymarket graphic by the way):

Cook County to Cut "Fat" From Public Defenders' Office By Possibly Spending More Money:

Federal law mandates that legal representation be provided at the county's expense for indigent defendants, but private attorneys start twice as high as the measly wages the public defender's union has been able to negotiate. The only rationale for cuts in the public defender's office is to give the appearance of cutting spending while deferring the inevitable substantially higher costs into a later timeframe and buying time to lay the blame.

And you can always keep up with the latest on the Cook County Public Defenders Association Blog (AFSCME Local 3315).

Not all Zoobies are Bushies

Even though Brigham Young University's commencement speaker this year is Dick Cheney (great timing! topical and cringe-inducing!), it's not like everybody from BYU is defending the disgraced Bush administration ward heeler D. Kyle Sampson, or sharing the sort of mind-set that produces headlines such as "BYU Grad Falls Victim to Attorney Purge."

From the BYU NewsNet readers forum:

Questionable Integrity

In "BYU alumni Sampson resigns in controversy" (March 18) on Kyle Sampson's abrupt exit from the Justice Department professor Earl Fry is quoted as saying Sampson is "a good man with a lot of integrity ... a good soldier who has fallen on his sword in order to protect his boss, the attorney general."

I may be missing something here, but it seems to me Sampson is covering for an attorney general who fires U.S. attorneys based on their investigations of his political allies (after he told Congress under oath he would do no such thing), who uses his clout with President Bush to get Bush to deny security clearance to those tasked with investigating his alleged crimes in the illegal wiretap cases, and above all who destroys the sacred Constitution of the United States in the name of fighting terrorism. Covering up for such a man may make Sampson a good soldier, but it most certainly does not make him a man with a lot of integrity.

I hope Fry isn't teaching any ethics classes.

Nate White
Lewisville, Texas

Define Integrity

In the article on the resignation of Kyle Sampson (March 18), political science professor Earl Fry is quoted as a sort of character witness. Professor Fry calls the man who apparently managed the politically motivated firing of several U.S. attorneys and spearheaded the preparation for the ensuing cover-up "a good man with a lot of integrity."

Fry's definition of integrity mystifies me. Sampson advocated deceiving members of Congress about Department of Justice actions and motivations. He recommended claiming potential deceptive stalling actions were all done in "good faith."

I don't know Sampson, but the e-mails he has authored make him look to me less like a man of integrity and more like a devious and deceptive political operative with no discernible principles whatsoever.

It is my hope that BYU, which I attended for one year, will take a look at this product of its education and start to emphasize virtues like honesty and guilelessness over ambition and loyalty-at-any-cost.

Kim McCall
Menlo Park, Calif.

Here's another old article from the Y about Kyle "loyal Bushie" Sampson, this one from 2002:

Y grad advises President Bush

A BYU graduate has made his way into the White House. Kyle Sampson graduated from BYU in 1993 with a degree in American studies. Now, less than 10 years later, he is advising President George W. Bush as associate counsel to the president. "I've been really lucky. I've just been really blessed to have the jobs I've had," Sampson said. "I was just in the right place at the right time..."

After completing his studies at BYU, Sampson attended the University of Chicago Law School... After clerking for a federal judge, working in the appeals department of a Salt Lake law firm and serving as counsel for Senator Hatch, Sampson was appointed to his current position. "It's pretty lucky to get this kind of job. I love it," he said...

Sampson has learned that the beliefs and intentions of politicians are different than people might think. "I think people are cynical about politicians and they think those office holders are just there to serve their own interests," Sampson said. "I don't think that's true. The two politicians that I've worked for, Senator Hatch and President Bush, are both really committed and focused on doing the right thing for the right reasons," he said.

Sampson said every decision Hatch and Bush make is for the betterment of the lives of the people they represent. "I think both of them are really altruistic public servants. It has really been a big honor for me to work for them," Sampson said. Although being on the White House Council has been rewarding for Sampson, it is not without stress. "It's crazy-stuff flying at you all the time," Sampson said. Sampson works on everything related to the president's constitutional power including appointments, picking federal judges, granting presidential pardons and proposing legislations...

Tale of the tats

I'm continuing my re-evaluation of my feelings about tattoos. Today at the detention hearing I sat next to one teenager who had a joker skull inked on his forearm, and another who had rosary beads and three dots inked on his hand. I know that I shouldn't jump to conclusions. They probably just liked the design.

I have been a fan of Russian prison tattoos (gallery here), ever since I saw my first Russian prison - the outside of one, at least. I've learned that some Guatemalan artists are making great aesthetic strides in this area. But for something closer to home, I could develop an appreciation of the wearable art of Texas or Arizona or Chicago.

Tonight I caught a few minutes of "Tattoo Stories" from Fuse TV, where a young Anglo guy got a "13" done because "it's my lucky number," not for any gang-related reason. You know, tattoos aren't necessarily gang-related.

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.

IL: Ed Burnette's swan song

From Chicago Breaking News Center:

Public defender wins last case over Stroger

During his last day in office today, Cook County Public Defender Edwin Burnette was savoring a legal victory over County Board President Todd Stroger. The victory came in the form of a unanimous ruling from the First District Illinois Appellate Court. It made clear the public defender - and not the board president - has control over hiring, firing and discipline in the public defender's office...

See also Cook County Public Defenders Blog, Burnette Victorious in Suit Against Stroger

(My kind of town. My vacation there starts this Saturday.)

IL: Cook County p.d.s on the chopping block

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Many lawyers could lose jobs - Prosecutors, public defenders would feel pinch

Tensions are roiling the Cook County public defender's office amid fears the county's budget woes could force deep cuts in legal staff.

The 10 percent budget cut initially requested by county officials would force layoffs of 150 lawyers, Public Defender Ed Burnette said. If County Board President Todd Stroger gets the 17 percent cut he is now asking for, at least 210 assistant public defenders would have to be cut, another source said. "It's going to be devastating," Burnette said...

Send some love to the colleagues in Chicagoland, the poor bastards.

Update: they have a blog.

IL: the world turned upside down

From the Chicago Reader blogs:

Rule of Law

I hope I wasn't the only one who was floored to read the following quote in this morning's Sun-Times: "This world is upside down when public defenders who represent criminals make more than the men and women in this office."

It's attributed to first assistant state's attorney Robert Milan, Cook County's second-ranking prosecutor. I assume this is just careless venting... (I)t's not like the public defender's office is some feel-good charity set up to soothe the consciences of champagne liberals...

Greetings from Chicago

Law butcher for the world, city of Andrea Lyon's shoulders, my family and I are enjoying your company.

Gun/play

How do teens feel about guns? "Do we really know what draws some young people to a life of guns and violence?" Via CrimProf Blog, "Bernard Harcourt recounts in-depth interviews with youths detained at an all-male correctional facility, exploring how they talk about guns and what meanings they ascribe to them," in his new book Language of the Gun: Youth, Crime, and Public Policy.

Listen to a radio interview here.

I know how one of my young clients feels about guns - he loves them! And he was quite open about telling everyone. He's doing one year now, a small sweet-faced violent kid.

Update: via the book's publisher, the University of Chicago Law School faculty blog has more information, including links to Powerpoint, mp3 and podcast of Professor Harcourt's earlier talk on kids and guns, including these quotes from boys aged 12 - 17:

“If you’re out there and you don't have a strap, you're going to get killed.” “I had me two baby 9's. I fell in love with those. They look beautiful to me.” “I like to reload bullet shells.” “You feel powerful when you have a gun. You get respect.” “I love guns. Hell yeah, I love guns. I love everything about a gun.”

IL: "I don't believe he is a criminal"

In the wake of the George Ryan trial, here is a profile from the Chicago Sun-Times of one of my instructors at NCDC and the Darrow College, Andrea Lyon:

'I do not believe he is a criminal and conspirator'

Lyon is about the furthest an attorney can be from that silk-stocking, money-making operation.

At 53, her legal career, 14 years of it as a public defender, could best be defined by all the money she never made on behalf of causes she passionately believed in when nobody else did. "She bleeds defense blood," says her friend and DePaul Law School faculty colleague Len Cavise.

I know that to be true...

And friends, they may think it's a movement

From the San Jose Mercury News, a follow-up guest editorial, Public defender movement a reminder of justice denied:

Recently I was writing an article about Clara Foltz, the first female lawyer in California... At the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, Clara Foltz launched the public-defender movement with a compelling description of the evils she had seen herself.

While I was putting the finishing touches on my article, the Mercury News published its exposé of criminal justice in the county where Clara Foltz first practiced. It describes the same incompetence and neglect that she portrayed in her speeches and writings: the same.

A hundred years after Foltz shocked her World's Fair audience, thousands still serve unjust sentences because they did not have adequate counsel...

Plus ça change?

Update: Blast! PD Stuff beat me to this by a day! More proof that p.d. investigators are quicker on the uptake than p.d.'s (or at least this p.d.)

IL: Andrea Lyon and the ex-governor

Andrea Lyon is known for representing clients facing capital punishment. Now she's on the defense team for a former Illinois governor facing federal corruption charges:

If George Ryan hadn't emptied Death Row and pardoned her client, former Death-Row inmate Madison Hobley, would she be volunteering her time today to help the Ryan legal team?

She was candid. "No," she said. But, she went on to explain, she had become friends with Ryan after he left office in the context of his advocacy for abolition of the death penalty. And it was that friendship, along with her belief in his innocence, that inspired her to help him.

Interesting enough. Also worth clicking on for the republished Chicago Tribune story, "Angel of Death Row: For Illinois prisoners facing execution, Andrea Lyon is the last line of defense" (scroll down), and this takeaway quote:

"After you've defended someone's life, one rich man suing another seems so unimportant."

No myth

I'm afraid it might have been better for us and our meth clients when methamphetamine was flying under the national radar.

Now that the stuff is encroaching on the better surburbs of New York and Chicago, for whatever reason or agenda, pundits and opinion-shapers have become vocal and vigorous epidemic deniers.

This dreary and predictable seen-it-all response on the part of Jack Shafer and other is the unfortunate fall-out when, after years of crying "wolf," there really is a wolf.

There is a meth problem, and people's health and families are suffering from it. But who are you going to believe: Slate, or your own lyin' eyes?

As far as the "myth" of "meth mouth," who should you trust? Pundits or dentists?

Bonus link: say it with me - Meth is Bad.

Pundits on drugs

Breaks my heart that the suffering of my meth clients and their families can get written off as so much hype by the chattering classes, right and left, all to score some debating points. I must be hallucinating: I've seen the scabs and the rotten teeth, the kids taken away, the meth lab next door. Legions of victims of forgery and theft, wasted lives behind bars, early deaths? Yeah, I think "epidemic" is just about the right word.

Yet who am I, a mere public defender peon, next to the brilliance of Slate editor Jack Shafer? Eager to take down a rival news magazine, Shafer mocks the message that there's a huge national methamphetamine problem, because he disapproves of the crudity of the messenger.

Pictures of people scarred by meth? "Gross-out." "Exploitative." "Freak-show pandering." These are my neighbors and clients you're talking about, pendejo. They're not freaks. They're real, they exist, they suffer and die for no good reason. Just maybe someone leafing through a Newsweek in a waiting room will remember the images next time the devil offers them a snort. For that, offending Jack Shafer's sensibilities is a good trade.

Claims of a meth epidemic? "Scaremongering." "Hysteria." "Bugged-eyed claims." Bully for Professor Shafer, he can't bothered to learn the difference between the whites and cross-tops of his youth and today's d-methamphetamine. But who needs curiosity about addiction, or public health, or property crime, or the life and quality of life of poor people? Shafer has a calculator and conceit to spare. Newsweek didn't use the variables he prefers - presto, no epidemic!

(Daily Pundit makes the same mistake and displays the same conceit, but at least he has personal experience with illegal stimulants.)

Breaks my heart too that this kind of high-handed dismissal of other people's misery gets picked up and validated by the echo chamber. "Another Fine Meth" - ha, ha, ha, wicked clever, Biff! Who gives a sh*t about the suffering millions anyway? They're trailer trash, and we are influential media critics; stand back, we've got something pithy to say! Who needs the voices of the folks in the trenches?

They could start by reading their own comments:

"Both Newsweek... and Slate don't deal with the real story - which is NOT the number of deaths. The crisis comes from the crime committed by freaked-up meth heads in search of money for their addiction. That's why the the Sheriffs (and state governments) are aroused."

"Still, being from the Midwest, we've been wondering how long it would take for meth to become chic in the east. The politicians and law enforcement types have been screaming about meth for a couple years. Living in Fargo, ND and Iowa City the last 6 years, I've come in contact with my share of meth users. I don't have any numbers, but my perception is closer to the Newsweek article more than the Slate article (in regard to number of users, not the scare tactics)."

"I look at this story and think, "you f*cking idiots, you're only about 7 years late." I lived in Joplin, MO (in the buckle of the bible belt) and the cops there were at wits end. In 1999, in Twin Falls, Idaho (a bastion of very socially conservative Mormons) this peaceful small town was dealing with its meth epidemic."

Please, pundits, listen and learn before you spout off about meth next time, else we were better off toiling in obscurity.

Bonus links:

- Rob Thurman on Newsweek:"...makes me wonder why it took white ladies from rural Iowa and tony Chicago suburbs getting all strung out on Miss Tina for mainstream media to pay attention?"

- Chris Clarke on tooth decay and outrage, liberals and poor people, elitism and solidarity. Read the thought-provoking comments, too.

NCDC from the inside

This is cool for alums of National Criminal Defense College - a blog entry from one of the actors:

i played a homosexual framed for murder in chicago's grant park, a c.i.a. special agent..., a cross-dresser being cross-examined over a double-crossing client, and a bad cop willing to say anything... all without changing my hair or wardrobe.

"I know you are but what am I?"

Back-and-forth if-you-didn't-laugh-you'd-cry attorney-client dialogue from Musings and Rants; why don't our clients take our advice, anyway?

Client: They can't take my case to the grand jury. It's against my constitutional rights!
Me: Actually, they can. And it doesn't violate your rights.
Client: Yes it does.
Me: No. It doesn't.
Client: It does! I got people in Chicago that looked it up.
Me: Are the people lawyers?
Client: No. But they say that it's against my constitutional rights.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.