Love you, too

New blog Justice Mountain takes exception to a recent article in the NACDL (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) magazine:

Although the author also describes admiring some individual public defenders, he leaves the impression that career public defenders don't fight hard enough to keep the system honest. Public defenders have taken strong issue with the article. The reaction has been that this is another example of how many private lawyers, NACDL and the general public have a low regard for public defenders.

Here an excerpt from the article:

[T]hat’s one of the things I always thought was wrong with staying a public defender too long: you become too much a part of the process, and too much of a colleague with the other bureaucrats in the criminal justice system.

Although I admire some individual NACDL members, the article leaves me with an impression of NACDL. To catch the whiff of condescencion that's gotten up some people's noses, you'd need to read the whole thing, written by a lawyer who worked at the beginning of his career "as a law clerk to retired Chief Justice Earl Warren," then for two whole years as a federal public defender.

Between this article and the invitations to come to Aspen for some CLE hours, recently I've also read in The Champion that NACDL gave an award to one of its board members for outstanding service. One of my most well-prepared and tenacious former p. d. co-workers attended NCDC, where he had the bad fortune to draw this same board member as an instructor. Instead of being instructed, he was badgered pointlessly for being a rich white WASP from Boulder. True, so? My friend also has bullet-proof integrity and an unwavering commitment to justice. His hot-shot instructor from the top of the NACDL heap just turned out to be a creep.

I'm going into the office again tonight. I've done seven jury trials so far this year. Our trial court administrator has scheduled me to start one tomorrow morning, then a second one on Wednesday morning. There's a renewal notice for my NACDL membership sitting on my desk next to a pile of files. What do you think I ought to do with it?

Update: Indigent Journal says, it's not nice to disrespect public defenders.