NM: the whole 'free-floating anger at the clients' thing boils over

Down Las Cruces way, Michael (who seems to relate to Ron Livingston in "Band of Brothers" and probably in "Office Space" too) explains his recent behavior:

How most criminal defense attorneys feel...

I (used to, up until last week) work as a public defender in a medium sized college town in southern NM. Last week, I had a motion hearing on a very specific point of law; my client was a 22 or 23 year old punk...

At this point he mumbled something again about me being a "rookie" and I yelled "F*ck You!" He screamed it back and at that point, I grabbed his orange pajamas and pulled him toward me. At the same time I pulled back my fist to pop him in the nose...

I resigned the next day. You see, most public defenders don't like they're clients. They hate them as much as the general public... We are just doing our duty (somebody has to do it), to uphold the constitution. I'm just glad I'm not doing it anymore...

Assuming this is non-fiction, I guess I would tell the writer, "I'm glad you're not doing it anymore too. Get some r 'n' r, but speak for yourself about the 'most p.d.'s feel this way' thing."

Bonus link: not in response to this but obliquely on point, a law student reflects on clinic and disrespect:

The students and some of the professors in this clinic should get oscars for how dramatic and exasperated they get from even the most minor things our clients do or say... Frankly, they should not be defending people if they have such a hard time dealing with it...