If you are arrested, you must have done something wrong
The cynicism in that headline is the reason we need Public Defenders and why the Monroe County Public Defender selection was very important.
Hope you caught City News excellent article highlighting the day in the life of a Monroe County Public Defender. Certainly worth reading in its entirety. I was surprised by the crushing case load and its impact on work. The current Public Defender Tim Donaher said -
"Are clients getting adequate representation now? Yes. Are clients suffering? Yes," says Public Defender Tim Donaher. "And that sounds inconsistent, and it is. Because if you’re asking me: are we not making mistakes in individual cases because of caseloads, I would lie to you if I said ‘No.’"
Crushing case load? Sure.
City Court attorneys like [The profiled Public Defender Amanda]Oren each handle more than 1,000 cases a year - a mix of misdemeanor and violations. The American Bar Association says that attorneys should not handle more than 400 misdemeanor cases each year, and Oren figures she’s easily doubling that. The other bureaus in the Public Defender’s Office significantly exceed national caseload standards, too.
Then there is that whole Constitution thing.
Being a public defender is about protecting individual rights, she [Oren] says, as well as protecting the Constitution and the justice system. "We have a Constitution for a reason; it’s meant to protect all of us," she says. "And that means everybody - poor, rich, everything. And if we don’t, then what are we left with? And then what keeps it from happening to you? We’re kind of the check in the check-and-balance system."
Great thing that Constitution protects everyone - well at least it is supposed to. Click over and read the whole article . An interesting perspective.
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[...] was a great article in City news about Public Defenders. Read [...]