This twittering piece in the NYT highlights the perfectly predictable responses to the Atlanta shooting. The most disturbing bit to me, of course was the bit about the attack on a public defender:
"While it might seem counterintuitive that a defendant would attack his own lawyer, some public defenders say it is commonplace for their clients to disparage them.
"In any prison, the person most inmates name as responsible for them being there is 'the dump truck P.D.,' " said David Coleman, the public defender in Contra Costa County, Calif. "Thus, the razor or weapon used against a public defender is all too common."
Ah...yes, our clients disparage us constantly (and often with good reason) but attacks? "all too common?" what does that mean? How many wouldn't be all too common? I expect more from my PD brethren--a more sanguine approach, a more levelheaded acceptance that violence happens everywhere, it will always happen, and that the answer is that you deal with it effectively when it does. Otherwise, we'll soon be looking at having our allegedly dangerous clients tried from their cells.
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1 comment:
If their experiance with a PD is anything like mine, I cant blame those who believe the main reason they are in jail is because of the PD attorney who handled their case.
I was assigned a PD attorney with less than two years as a member of the Bar. She completely bungled my case at a hearing to suppress. The prosecuter had a field day. She was not prepared , she cited ancient case law when I had provided her with three pages of more current cites, she allowed the prosecuter to pry testemony from me that incriminated me, she allowed testemony that was unsubstantiated by evidense and did nothing when the officer flat out lied even though I had absolute proof that he had given false testemony, she just sat there.
She was satisfied with resigning herself to the philosophy that motions to supress are hard to win so just plead guilty and take the diversion. She was blatantly incompetent and now I am looking at a conviction based on a fabricated lie from a police officer under oath. Worthless representation from the office of David Coleman
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