Things I wish my clients' families knew

Last week Blonde Justice presented "Things I Wish My Clients Knew (Part 1), which could stand to be distributed in holding cells and p.d. office lobbies nationwide.

I've been trying to think of the equivalent for our clients' friends and families, more so now that the common complaint of "my public defender didn't return my phone calls" has been raised to the level of anarcho- syndicalist critique.

Fortunately, and predictably, it's already been said earlier and better at Prison Talk Online by one inmate's loved one:

"The Big Dog Theory....of the practice of defense of a caseload. Maybe it'll make a difference to how people 'react' to the prospect of not having the undivided attention of a PD or any other attorney. Give it some thought.

When it's the week of your trial YOU are the Big Dog. At any point in time prior to that, in the eyes of any attorney with any sort of caseload-- you are not the Big Dog.

Court dates, as we know, have vast expanses of time between them ... During that time, if your loved one is in jail, they get plenty of meals on plastic trays and ceaseless noise from neighbors and time to think, worry and wonder. During that time, if you are the loved one outside with a phone, you are compelled to want to grill the attorney, or get some sort of information to help or sooth or inform or placate the person who's got 395 more plastic trays to stare down before he lays eyes on this attorney again in court.

It's natural to be anxious and be concerned... The Client is his/her own best advocate because they are going to see more of this attorney than you are. Given that a pd's client may appear a lot like just another client/case, it's up to the client to inspire that attorney, and participate.

The attorney is going to see more of the client than you.
The attorney is going to have other clients to tend to.

There will come a Big Dog day or week for your person and you'll be better prepared for it if the client and you both understand what to expect. The one thing you can expect is that it's fortunate that the Big Dog theory exists, or that attorney would be taking calls in his pocket or missing the Court date entirely because he's fielding calls and having meetings with wives and girlfriends asking questions about bond reductions and probation and pleas for people who got arrested just last week.

They manage the cases they have, the time they have and the need they have to work hard. Plea negotiation and trial preparation are things that they don't need help with, and if they did, they'd ask. The direction they get comes from the client,.... if you can be of any help at all it would be in helping that client TO participate.

Thank you and bless you, Retired-1, whoever you are.

(The men and women of groups like Prison Talk Online do more to build jail solidarity and sustain inmates and their families year-in, year-out than a thousand indymedia posts. By contrast, saying, "Don’t be afraid. We are with you. We love all of you who were arrested," in the same article that slags the folks working for those same arrestees comes off as a new version of a scathing old parody: "Pull the triggers, _____,we're with you all the way/Just across the Bay.")

OR: pro se gamble

I'd missed this news story last month, but still wanted to pass it along for educational purposes. It's a good illustration of the way clients can dig themselves a deeper hole, fighting with their public defender, relying on legal advice from their cellies, and expecting to be released from jail immediately when up on a serious charge:

Accused gambles for speedy trial - A murder suspect fires his court-appointed lawyer, who urged patience as he prepared a defense

Domenicke Sanders stood in the... courtroom one recent afternoon to again tell the judge he did not need a lawyer and was ready to face a jury and stand trial on a charge of murder.

The Multnomah County circuit judge, Nely Johnson, had fretted for weeks that Sanders was willing to bet his life by rejecting legal help provided by the state. She decided to gauge his preparation for trial.

"Do you know what jury selection is?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"What is it?"

Sanders said, "I'd rather not answer that question."

Puzzled, Johnson tried again. "Do you know what goes into a jury selection?"

"Yes."

"How would you do it?"

"I'd rather not answer that."

Johnson: "Do you know what motions you are entitled to file?"

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"I'd rather not answer that."

The exchange continued in that vein, and at the end of the hearing, Johnson said to Sanders, "I can't say that you understand what you're doing."

Sanders' case illustrates a common theme within criminal justice: Judges appoint taxpayer-funded lawyers to represent people who cannot afford legal help. But while officially on the same team, court-appointed lawyers and their clients sometimes do not get along...

Sanders' unhappiness with his lawyer led him to seek the counsel of a man who seemed to have all the answers -- a man who was also in jail. The man said Sanders could represent himself, and if he messed up, an appeals court would overturn the conviction.

Within days, Sanders fired his lawyer. His family tried to talk him out of it, and when they failed, they promised to pull together their assets to hire a private lawyer. Over their objections, Sanders told Johnson he wanted a speedy trial...

A Multnomah County circuit judge appointed Kenneth Walker, a veteran Portland criminal defense lawyer, to represent Sanders... Walker counseled Sanders to be patient because the lawyer needed time to prepare the case, especially since conviction could mean a life sentence. But Sanders wanted to be freed from jail immediately, and he grew frustrated with Walker.

Walker said he thought he had a good rapport with his young client, so it came as a surprise when Sanders told Walker he was fired for not getting him a speedy trial... Like most criminal defense lawyers, Walker has for years endured complaints that court-appointed lawyers work for the system.

"I've heard a couple of people say, 'I don't want a public pretender,' " he said. "I know people who work in the public defender's office who are personally committed to making the world a better place by making sure that people's rights are protected. People dedicate their lives to this... To be ragged on about working for the state is really difficult to hear."

In mid-July, Sanders went before Judge Johnson to fire Walker. By then, though, he had lost his "jailhouse lawyer"...

The full article is here.

Katrina message from NLADA

During this difficult time, NLADA has been reaching out to our members in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, especially those in areas that have been most affected by Hurricane Katrina. We've been able to reach some of you, while others remain in areas without phone service, electricity and in some cases the very infrastructure of their programs. Contact with them has been difficult. Much like some of the reporters we see on TV who are relaying messages of survival and hope, NLADA would like to hear from our members who are in a position to report on their personal status as well as the status of the programs and organizations in which they work. If there are members out there who have been able to reach colleagues in New Orleans, the communities along the Gulf Coast and all the other areas so terribly affected by Hurricane Katrina, please take a moment to let us know their status and of course to let us know what we in the NLADA community can do to help. We will relay any and all information as it comes in through our Web site, list servs and various electronic publications.

All of us at NLADA are working to develop and coordinate responses to the legal needs of our members. Currently, NLADA is gathering the names of members who have handled a wide variety of issues resulting from crises ranging from the tragedy of September 11 to the hurricanes in Florida to the wildfires in the West. These members have forwarded a great deal of information in the form of manuals, procedures and collection of real case studies in the wake of disasters and are willing to act as resources for our members in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, who have the overwhelming task of attending to people who have literally lost everything. This information will both be distributed electronically and available on our Web site. If you have information that you would like us to distribute, please contact Deborah Dubois at d.dubois@nlada.org. For those programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation, you should know that NLADA will work closely with LSC to help it secure funds for emergency services in a supplemental appropriations bill.

We will continue to work with our board of directors and our civil, defender and client policy group members to effectively coordinate our efforts in meeting your needs as they arise. We know that the individuals we serve will unfortunately occupy a significant portion of the population in need and that the resources on both the civil and defender sides of our community will be stretched greatly. The enormity of the tasks that lie ahead are daunting, but please know that NLADA is a resource for you and we will do all that we can to support you during this very difficult time.

We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Jo-Ann Wallace, President & CEO
National Legal Aid & Defender Association

Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

old courthouse











The U-Haul is packed, more or less, the DI truck has left, and in an hour or so, I'll be off on the next installment of the adventure. I'll be back in a week for cats, in two weeks for wife, son, and dogs. I'm leaving this place where I married, where  my wife and son

were born, where my father-in-law, rest him, died in harness two hours after a pre-trial, and where somehow I came to rest and stayed put for the longest stretch of time since high school.

I first set foot in the old courthouse back in 1995, the day before my wedding. Months before, I'd applied for a job with the federal defenders, the first in a series of fool's errands to that august body.
(typical state court p.d. (center) interviews with federal p.d. (right) to bemusement of man of action (left))

They rejected me, and not for the last time, but sent my CV on to various Idaho chief p.d.'s who might have lower standards, including the chief in Twin, who invited me to interview. I'd found a job I liked in Washington State by then, as a prosecutor alas, but a civil prosecutor at least, but I figured, I'll be in town for a wedding, so what the heck, it'll be good juju for the future. What an odd day. I got the marriage license, met with the guy (who maybe didn't have the best people skills and surely would've fired my *ss within a year), ducked my ex-girlfriend the criminal defense lawyer in the parking lot, and drove around town buying mixed nuts and mints for the reception and listening to Kurdt Cobain yowling, "married...buried...yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." The wedding was much more fun.

Somehow I must have intuited that I'd be back, and since April 1998, here I've been. My boy Joe arrived in 1999, in time to meet his grandfather. My practice became exceedingly interesting: I befriended a few murderers, I saw others recover, I made a few stands and won a few trials though I let down a few other defendants, but in general felt I could hold my head up when running into old clients at the grocery outlet. I'm proud that want ads under my by-line said "Class standing is less important than commitment and a sense of humor." I had some remarkable colleagues with smarts and heart at the Twin Falls County Public Defenders Office. You know who you are. If you don't know who you are, thank you Jon O., Paulie, Tony, Casey, Denise, Wells, Robert, Julia, Brett, Robin C., Bryan, Christa, Jack, L. Scott, Sandra, Charles, Teri, Ben, Susan, Robin W., Chris, Brody, and Marilyn. I leave an orphaned placeholder of a website to whoever can figure out how to update it. I haven't exactly finished my course, but I am taking it on the road now.

Consequently, this site will be going radio silent for a couple of weeks or so while I learn the ropes of my new posting. So it's farewell, Idaho, my old antagonist and friend, until we meet again.

Eat a peach

After "the sweetest public defender south of the Mason-Dixon line" had to pull down her blog apparently for office-related reasons, I was able to save a few more cached posts written by her. Here are a couple for posterity:

* Today I ran into my Cautionary Tale. She wasn't technically my client, but I was backup in court that day and my partner wasn't relating to her very well so it fell upon me to take care of things. I generally step in to take care of more emotional clients when my somewhat gruff male co-workers are having difficulties.

I call her my Cautionary Tale because she's a classic example of a good kid who really messed up her life with a couple bad choices. Now she's got a felony drug conviction because she got a ride from a couple of friends she shouldn't have had. Because of her, I tell all my friends not to let their druggie friends ride in their car.

She really changed the way I thought about my job, even though I hadn't been on it very long. She wanted to go ahead and plea because she knew there was enough evidence to convict her, and that technically she was holding the stuff at the time. She was worried about the amount of time she could get and wanted to keep it off her record. But when she stood up to enter her plea in front of the judge she got teary, and this judge (the same judge who chewed me out) wouldn't take the plea because of it.

Court for us who do it all the time is an exhausting process. And it becomes relatively routine. But even then, I have trouble with his actions. I don't think it's at all unusual or unexpected for a girl who's all of 19 to get a little upset about the consequences of her actions and the gravity of what she's doing standing there in front of him. His yelling at her about crying didn't help.

We had to stand back on the case and I sat with her for a long while. She told me her story, I let her talk and cry and get it out, and after lunch she stood up there and entered her plea and stayed calm...

Today I ran into her around town and she seemed happy. We talked and joked for a while. It took us a bit to recognize each other. But she's still having trouble finding work and I really hope things get better for her. I assured her that I had a lot of clients with worse records than hers (which is spotless except for this one thing) get good, well-paying jobs and to keep trying. I hope she does.

But seeing her reminded me that she's the first client who I won't forget. I see a lot of people, hundreds a year, but there will always be a few who stick with you and there's no getting around that.

* ...Today a girl was in on a case, she has a long, complicated history, but it's more her family situation that's troubling than her criminal past. At issue today was where to place her now. Hours were spent, arrangements were argued about. I talked to her a few times, sat with her for a while, and when I sat watching her in court I just wanted to hug her...

After all the details had been finalized, a placement was found, everyone was happy, and it seemed like we'd reached a good resolution. (Actually, this is what I like about Juvenile. You don't always have good options, true, but sometimes you can really get that Go-Team thing going.) At lunch, I went out with the Juvenile DA and some people with Juvenile Court. We saw this girl with the woman who was taking her to her new "home" and joked to each other that we should keep our cell phones on hand in case she tried to run. We came back from lunch to find out that she had, indeed, made a run for it. Last I heard she hadn't been found yet.

Once I found out, I was momentarily dumbfounded. And then I thought that these kids are more like adults than I give them credit for. And while I can talk to them differently, I have to keep that same kind of distrust and skepticism that I keep for clients. I want to believe them, but I'm never sure I can. You take everything with a few grains of salt. And if I think about it, I had a lot of motivation to lie as a teenager. So, you know, it makes sense...

Please God, don't ever let my kids end up in the criminal justice system. And please even more, don't let them end up in the juvenile justice system. But I might as well be here for the ones that do.

Carry on and hang in there, southern colleague; more than a few people are grateful that you're there.

No enemies on the left...oh, uh, never mind

Kirsten Anderberg "went to law school 1) to protect myself from cops who were hassling me as a street performer, and 2) to help the poor." Now she shares this insight that there's no difference between prosecutors and public defenders, just like there's no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. And if that seems so 2000 to you, know that if she voted, it wouldn't be for "another white elitist male attorney named Nader," so there.

Anderberg advises, "At this point, the way the prosecutors and public defenders treat clients, it is very hard to distinguish *who actually is* on the side of the client." This is brilliant advice for the would-be activist planning on getting busted between now and election day: you might as well talk to the prosecutor as the public defender. Better yet, don't talk to your public defender at all, the statist rat.

She concludes, "And there are no safe alternatives in our criminal injustice system either. Either way the *state* controls it all. The *state* controls the prosecutors and the public defenders. And the victims have little to no say, or recourse, to that two party, state paid, criminal injustice system."

Great. Stop the presses - Criminal Justice System Sucks. Well, until that glorious day when all of America is like Barcelona under the POUM, if people are going to engage in political actions that carry the risk of arrest, that's exactly the belly of the criminal injustice beast they're going to find themselves in. While they're in it, they might want to listen to what their public defender/trail guide has to say about finding an exit, before dismissing everything the PD says. Either that, or don't such be a lump: arrange your own lawyer or resolve to represent yourself before you get in trouble.

I have lots of p.d. comrades on "The Left" (if there is such a creature), good Movement veterans and Guild members among them, who bust their hearts and brains out for their clients. They've got to get tired of every new news item about the venality and corruption of public defenders. But when an activist or a client comes up with the system-shattering revelation that "the public defender gets his paycheck from the same government who pays the prosecutor, AH-HA!," I just want to quote one of my heroes: "Be quiet, and let me do my work in peace."

Oh, and "public pretender?" Hey, I've never heard that one before. Now excuse me please, I've got to go get tomorrow's marching orders from my statist paymasters.

(P.S.: for extra credit, go to one of her other essays, and see if you can catch 1. where she gives legal advice after pointedly writing, "I'm not giving legal advice", 2. where she gives advice on how to generate conflict with your p.d., and 3. where she assumes that Clarence Gideon was African-American.) (also scroll down the comments section there to some heart-felt, well-written rebuttals by a New York City "PD who cares more")

Update: In the wake of the Republican National Convention, the People's Law Collective and National Lawyers Guild earlier advised: "If you have already been arraigned you should have either been arraigned by an NLG attorney or by a public defender. If the public defender was a Legal Aid lawyer, then the National Lawyer’s Guild is asking that you stay with your Legal Aid attorney, because there aren’t enough NLG attorneys to take all of the cases. PLC, NLG and the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys have been working together and we trust Legal Aid and think they will do a good job."

Stupid is as stupid does

Jack Shafer of Slate admits that he doesn't know everything about meth:

... I ridiculed as "stupid" this news story... about "meth heads" who... "sit in the bush with hundreds of parts just fiddling with them all day." Proving that I, too, should search the medical literature before cracking jokes about meth coverage, I received a polite e-mail... inform(ing) me of the neurological concept of "punding," the restless and repetitive assembling and disassembling of mechanical devices (watches, carburetors, radios), the obsessive lining-up of small objects, or the picking at one's own skin.

That was a joke? Predictable of Shafer to have called "stupid" that which he doesn't understand. "Punding." A good word to add to my vocabulary, as in "I have clients and neighbors who go in for punding stereos and lawn-mowers."

But, to give the old devil his due, it's decent of Jack Shafer to give some credit to some journalists who really do know more about meth than he does...

... don't, don't, don't write a column inch on the subject before you read the Oregonian's comprehensive methamphetamine package from head to toe. That's not a blanket endorsement of the Oregonian's work, but it's close. Steve Suo and the other Oregonian journalists who worked on it are intellectually honest and intrepid reporters... Suo disputes critics who say the extent of meth use has been overstated...

... even if it took Shafer twelve days to link to Suo's critique. If you're at all interested in this subject, you ought to check Suo out.

(Regular A&C readers (you, you, that other p.d., and the one prosecutor who's been lurking) already know about this great Oregonian series, because I shared it with you back in February.)

Chock full o' meth

$250,000 to $300,000 estimated street value worth of methamphetamine hidden into one car zipping north into Idaho on U.S. 93. Nearly eight pounds of the stuff, translating into a whole lot of hair-trigger wide-awake tweakers roaming the Magic Valley. Interdicting it means that my old clients and the rest of their neighbors might sleep a little more soundly this week.

It was bad timing for the drug lobbyists and the Sudafed-on-demand interests up at the legislature in Boise, though. The House Judiciary and Rules Committee passed a bill Thursday to restrict sales of over-the-counter cold and allergy products containing pseudoephedrine.

If the bill eventually becomes a law, you'll have to ask a pharmacist for permission to buy those products. You'll have to show your ID and sign for the medicine. You'll also be restricted to buying no more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine within a 30-day period.

In the great scheme, this doesn't seem so unduly burdensome. Back to the hero of our tale now, who was found "gripping the wheel tightly and looked as if he was frozen in place."

A couple of things I've never understood about narco-trafficantes: if you are going to transport your contraband on the highways, I can see hiring a drug mule with a prior drug trafficking conviction - he probably beat out the applicants with no prior experience. Why, though, to transport your precious cargo would you hire a driver with seven drivers' license suspensions ? And if you are that drug mule, and you know you're carrying over a quarter-million dollars' worth of something naughty, why do you drive nine miles over the speed limit?

And then "(a) drug dog was called to the scene and 'showed interest' in several areas of the car." Well, of course he did! Have a nice 20 years in the pen, pendejo!

Bonus link: News Flash! "Police applaud Supreme Court decision on K-9s"

(Links to the Twin Falls newspaper will expire in seven days or less)

How Can You Not Defend 'Those People'?

From Across the Pond to Blonde Justice, the old question comes up: how can lawyers represent people who they know are guilty?

The quickest reply is usually along the lines of "Who am I to judge?" (which incidentally would not the best slogan for a p.d. seeking judicial office). It's common for criminal defense lawyers to say, "I don't know whether or not my client's guilty, that's the jury's job, not mine." It's also the case that most of us consider asking our client, "so, did you do it?" well, a bit gauche.

The more thorough justification points to our role and our self-understanding as advocates in an adversarial system, checks on government power, and protectors of the Constitution. We hold the state to its proofs, we fight to exclude the bad statements and stuff that the cops have cut corners to obtain, and in trial we flog the hell out of reasonable doubt no matter what our personal opinion may be of our client's guilt. You take it to the extreme, though, and it can be anything goes to get the client off.

Blonde Justice's answer is a good one, sticking up for the underdog, and appreciating the clients' humanity. It draws a lot on the insight that young prosecutors sometimes seem to lack: There but for the grace of God go I.
God's grace, and a source of authority over 1700 years older than the Bill of Rights, is where Crim Law finds his answer, and I suspect it's one that sustains him a great deal when he's in visiting with the hateful client accused of ghastly things. It is an eloquent vision of a lawyer's role in preventing further harm and resisting human vengeance. Even if you aren't a person of religious faith, maybe just someone striving to do criminal defense work with integrity, it will benefit you to give Elder Crimlaw a fair hearing. I'm fairly sure that he would agree with St. Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons: "Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake."

Back when I hit a bump on answering this question to myself, I got help, and a new job description, from a section of The Lawyer's Calling by Joseph Alegretti titled "The Lawyer as Companion of the Guilty":

"Everyone, even the guilty criminal--especially the guilty criminal!--needs a companion, a friend, someone to stand with him and for him."

"The defense lawyer's job is to force the system to acknowledge that the defendant is not just a social misfit, or a statistic, or a criminal, but a human being with hopes and dreams and fears. A human being who, like any of us, stands in need of repentance and redemption."

"The question for the Christian lawyer is not, 'How can you work to get a guilty person off?' The real question is, 'Will you stand by this person, this flawed and sinful human being, and speak a word on his behalf?'"

Our recessional hymn is from Say Amen Somebody by the O'Neal Twins, Jesus Dropped the Charges:

I was guilty of all the charges
doomed and disgraced
but Jesus with His special love
forgave me by His grace
He pleaded, He pleaded
He pleaded my case
Jesus dropped the charges (repeat)
Now I'm saved through grace and faith

I was guilty for so long
Lived in sin too long
but Jesus with His special love
reached down with an arm so strong
He picked me up and turned me around
gave me a brand new start
Jesus dropped the charges (repeat)
Now to Him I belong

You may remember, remember
some of the things I've done
but Jesus with His special love
forgave me for every one
He put me on the right road
lifted my heavy load
Jesus dropped the charges (repeat)
Now I'm free down in my soul

He dropped the charges
Jesus dropped the charges
although I was wrong

He dropped the charges
Jesus dropped the charges
showed me right from wrong

He dropped the charges
Jesus dropped the charges
and cast them all away

At Calvary I heard Him say
At Calvary I heard Him say
At Calvary I heard Him say
Case dismissed, case dismissed
saved by grace!

We now resume our regular secular schedule.

Laws my clients told me

Ken Lammers starts a list of things that make him go "Hmmmm" with a short example of the two sources of jurisprudence in our clients' lives: on the one hand, statutes and caselaw and your lawyer's considered opinion, on the other, what your cellies tell you. Guess which one's the more persuasive authority?

"Every single year I have clients who believe the scuttlebutt at the jail which tells them this is going to happen and tell me to my face that I'm wrong when I say it ain't gonna."

I saw a bit of this in action in court today. Co-worker of mine, really good trial attorney and all-around good guy, was standing before the judge with a guy in orange. Guy in orange was bad-mouthing my buddy for supposedly not knowing the law (there was also a bit of poor-mouthing about how he couldn't afford a real lawyer, and how the p.d. didn't care about him because he wasn't paying for the p.d.'s services). Dude told the judge that he'd do a better job representing himself.

Hearing that, I wanted to say, "it's your funeral." I'm afraid that I tend toward the passive-aggressive response when my clients correct me on the law. If I looked at these little impasses as teaching moments instead... presto, I'd be the legal educator I've always dreamed of becoming. Gotta get a laptop and some CD-ROM's of every case in US Reports and Pacific Reporter to take with me to jail visits.

In the absence of law books on disc, here are some holdings my clients have briefed me on lately:

* If it wasn't performed in the field, it's not a valid field test
(which is more expansive than what was apparently the previous ruling: "They have to perform the field test in a field.")

* If the cop doesn't give you a ticket for the reason you were pulled over, you can't be prosecuted for the drugs in your car (or the DUI, or...)

* If you have a pending charge and the judge orders you to have no contact with the alleged victim, and then you go ahead and have contact, you can't be found guilty of violating the no-contact order unless (or until) you've been found guilty of the pending charge

and an old reliable,

* If the cop didn't read you your rights, then they have to dismiss the case.

There seems to be a trend, at least in the 17+ years I've been at this, let's say, of increasing confidence on the part of many clients in their own legal knowledge and judgment. The corresponding trend, naturally enough, is decreasing reliance on their lawyer's advice. I blame meth and Judge Judy. This confidence does not correlate in any way to actual outcomes, which usually mean incarceration. In fact, over in the clients' parallel law school, most often the instructors with the most prestige are the ones with the most convictions and doing the most time.

They should know.

ID: IF seeks new p.d.

In Idaho Falls, Neal Randall's out; we'll know on Friday who's in, from KPVI:

Bonneville County Searching for New Chief Public Defender

What might you look for in a new chief p.d.?

"Somebody with good administrative qualities, somebody with the right temperament, you know, because you are dealing with public; you have to have somebody that can deal with people in a crisis situation, be sensitive to that and somebody that can provide adequate attorney services, you know, a good attorney."

I like to think that in my six years on the job in TF, I was admirably adequate, although just after I was hired, when one Boise friend of mine told another friend that the county commissioners liked my good administrative qualities, the other friend said, "our John?"

Update: it's Jimmy Barrett.

Off-topic: neighbors / susjedi

Bosnian lamb roast
(in BiH, not in Idaho - note the Yugo - and a lamb, not a dog - read on)

My last night of my last time in Bosnia and Hercegovina in 2003, in a wooden ski lodge at the base of Bjelašnica, my local colleagues served us an amazing roast lamb on a spit. The mood was convivial, cheerful, reflective, and melancholy all at once, an aspect of BiH character and life that I treasure and miss.

I really miss at least one aspect of Twin Falls, Idaho life: Bosnian-Americans. About three hundred families from former Yugoslavia live there now, aided by the CSI Refugee Service Center. A great bunch of people, bringing a needed pinch of paprika to what used to be a bland Southern Idaho casserole.

And the food! At one time, Twin supported not one but two Yugo restaurants, where I could take family and friends for cevap and conversation. There are two caffe-bars still there, with a grocery store with umbrella'ed tables for hanging out out front, bringing a little bit of continental cafe culture to south-central Idaho. I'd dress my kid in soccer shirts I'd brought home - carefully balanced among Red Star Belgrade, Dynamo Zagreb, and FK Sarajevo and FK Železnicar - and get a kick out of the warm reception we'd get from our new neighbors. Most of the Bosnians in Twin left the divisions of the war behind them , many were in mixed marriages, and all were working hard at building a new American life.

I was fortunate to come to know several Bosnian people through my work. My interpreter was my best guide. A Bosnian Croat from Sarajevo, she helped me with my vocabulary and my understanding, and brought a bit of European dolce vita to our courthouse. Through her, I got closer to understanding my Bosnian clients. One was a cheerful funny Bosnian Serb who overindulged in rakija, women, and song, one of which regularly subjected him to random BAC's. Another was a veteran of the Armija BiH. He was sleeping through loud music when the cops arrived, investigating a neighbor's complaint. When the cops opened his door, shined their flashlights at him and woke him up, he pointed a gun at them, and was arrested for a felony. Maybe alcohol was involved, but when I was able to explain specifically what my client had been through in the war, the prosecutor gave me a misdemeanor, and the judge gave him no jail and a $10.00 fine.

Unfortunately, by and large, Twin was never the most embracing of newcomers. When I did my little slide shows after the times I came back from BiH, I tried to convey some sense of what the refugees from the Yugoslav wars had lost, and what they added to Idaho. I'd get asked, how soon are they going back home? I'd say, this is their home now. The lucky ones were the ones whose house back in Bosnia had lost its roof, because they could raise a new roof and move back in. The unlucky ones either lost their whole house and land, or had a house which was undamaged by the fighting, but now occupied by strangers.

So you can imagine how I felt to read this :

TWIN FALLS -- What's roasting over your neighbor's barbecue pit? For some, it might not be what you think.

In a June 3 letter to the editor, Linda Collins of Twin Falls said, "There are people living in Twin Falls who eat dogs." She also said some of her son's neighbors were barbecuing a dog.

Collins called the sheriff's office and reported the incident, but was told nothing could be done about it. The Collinses were told there are laws concerning cruelty, but no laws concerning killing and eating.

Even if it involves a dog.

Collins' letter added a warning for people to watch out for their dogs.

"If you have a dog you are trying to find a home for, please make sure it is going to a good home, not for these people's dinner."

Her son's neighbor, Resid Begić, said they were not roasting a dog, they were roasting a lamb. They roast lambs as part of Bosnian celebrations, he said.

(Janjetina - lamb on a spit)
(what the neighbor might have seen)

Begić said deputies laughed when they learned it wasn't a dog being roasted. He also said even as bad as things got during the Serbian war, they didn't resort to eating dogs, that dogs are bad.

Did any neighbors ask the Begićs what they were roasting? "No," Begić said, they don't understand Bosnians and their traditions.

When asked if she would change her opinion if she knew they were lambs and not dogs being roasted, Collins said, "No, there are people in this community that eat dogs and cats."

Okay, let's review:


Idaho lamb - mmmmm! Prijatno!









Idaho dog - not halal, no way

And that has to be my favorite part of the story: after being corrected and told that the critter on the spit was in fact a tasty lamb, and not a dog, the complaining party stuck to her uninformed guns anyhow and refused to change her mind about her neighbors. Her loss - that lamb is delicious! I give the newspaper reporter high marks for seeing through this ridiculous woman's letter and having the gumption to go out and get the rest of the story. With ignant folks like this, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused. Willful ignorance and proud bigotry: aspects of small-town life that I didn't mind leaving behind.

Update: Dog-eaters! Financed by the federal government!

Automatic DQ

Interesting discussion amongst the law students on the topic:

How hard is it to get a summer job/internship for public defender?

including this relevation from Moonchigger:

The head of the Colorado PD's office actually told us at an informational meeting that they view working for the DA as a huge black mark. While he didn't say it would be an automatic disqualification, he did state that there was no PD he knew that could even consider being a prosecutor.

Well, he didn't know me then. So relieved to know that my years prosecuting child support cases aren't an automatic disqualification. Oh, the shame of representing The People, particularly on the days when I'd have to fill in on the criminal docket. On those days, I'd say things like, "Your Honor, the State of Washington wants... uh, whatever Your Honor wants," and then stare down at my shoes. Somehow, I could just feel the disembodied head of a PD's office somewhere glaring down at me - how my face would burn.

Hope I've redeemed myself in the nine years since then, though the black mark is still visible. It's nice to know:

(T)hat's not how the PD Office in GA works.

Not in Idaho either. Lucky for me, not in some parts of Washington. There's also the honorable example of Ken Lammers, lawyer for the people whichever side of the courtroom.

So, "how could you?" How could I even consider being a prosecutor? The question sure takes me back. Was it the glass ceiling between misdemeanors and felonies, with none of the senior felony guys (and they were all guys) going anywhere before retirement? Was it the cheery welcome on breaking through the ceiling, being told by one of the old guys, "none of you are qualified to handle these"? Could it have been the day I watched an older colleague argue for the release on his own recognizance of a con who'd previously raped someone close to me?

We all have our reasons, and our paths out of the job, and our paths back. None of them are disqualifying. As pointed out by commenter John Galt (how's that for a name for a freedom-fighting p.d.?):

An office as important as the PD should probably just focus on hiring the best attorney available.

And if you were feeling charitable, and maybe if you had more than one opening to fill, you could do as my current boss did, and take a chance on a one-time prosecutor like me.

Blog slag - advice wanted

My defense-inclined sistren and brethren:

You know I spend an unseemly amount of time browsing the various search engines for the latest tidings of public defender joy from the internets.

Usually I share the day's most angst-inducing examples with you. Usually I'm more than ready to link you to an ignorant post that pisses me off, say, one that contains the phrase "Tomorrow he goes to trial for his 3rd offense DUI and plans to have his public defender ( not a lawyer, just a public defender)..." or "So i am freaking out a lil bit.. becuase i did not have the money for a real lawyer i got a public defender..(free lawyer) which i dont really trust them..." Charmed I'm sure.

Tonight, though, I found a post slagging a criminal defense colleague and naming names, written by an extremely disgruntled family member of an incarcerated accused. I'm not linking, but here's the flavor:

His "Defense Attorney"... just wants him to "cop a plea..."

These attorneys are, for the most part very eager to settle the case. With exceptions, they're normally not the sharpest knife in the drawer...

Lather, rinse, repeat.

So I'm asking for your comments here. Do I share this link with my colleague (I like this colleague)? Would you want to know? Would you just as soon not know?

Update: Thanks to everyone for the good comments and advice. Today I did give the link to my colleague, who took the news much better than I would. Was amused in fact. Shared the printed-out post with other colleagues in fact. We crim-def types are a thick-skinned lot.

A progressive slap at public defenders

Assuming that you read Public Defender Investigator (and if you don't, you should), probably you've already scanned this dismaying and thorough San Jose Mercury - News series about the sad state of criminal justice in Santa Clara County, CA. If not, click, scroll through and view the shortcomings of the system up close.

If you were to read the Mother Jones magazine blog about it, here's something you'd take away:

... defense attorneys neglected to do even the most basic independent investigation... In some cases they didn't even appear to know basic criminal law. Note that this applies to both public defenders, who are notorious for this sort of behavior...

Good for the first commenter, who takes the blog to task. Maybe this is true of Charley in Florida, but put the broad brush down, Mother. Does it have to be repeated: just because you call yourself progressive doesn't mean that you won't stoop to a drive-by slur on public defenders? I expected a little better from Bradford Plumer. Thanks, MoJo.

WI: "either really gutsy or really, really mad"

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Clash of lawyers coming to a head

The defense attorney exploded.

"Why don't you just be honest and say: You know what, we don't care, folks. We don't care," (Joseph) Sommers yelled at Dane County Circuit Judge Robert Pekowsky, one of a string of judges who presided over the case. "These people (prosecutors) matter. They're the club. They're powerful. They matter. Adam Raisbeck doesn't count.

"Why don't you be -- why don't you just be honest about it, damn it!"

As bailiffs made their way to the courtroom, the judge told Sommers he needed to get control. "I'll bet you if I took a poll in here everybody would say that you are outrageously rude to me," Pekowsky said.

Sommers shot back: "And I bet if you took a poll in here everybody would say this is a kangaroo court..."

(e-mailed from Lisa in WI - thanks!)

Sure, but it's JUDGE Wright to you!

Passing along today's e-mail:

Dear Mr. Wright,

Greetings. My name is Dwight Dyer, and I am an organizing fellow at Working Assets. I would like to invite you to join our campaign to protect our Constitutional principles and restore Habeas Corpus. As you may know, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 stripped habeas corpus rights for certain detainees under U.S. custody.

This legislation is injurious to our system of justice, and we believe the legal community should be at the forefront of the effort to protect freedom, fairness, and due process of law. For these reasons, we invite you to become signatories of our Lawyers for Habeas petition, which you can find at:

http://www.workingassets.com/lawyersforhabeas/

Also, we want to strongly encourage you to reach out to your colleagues in the broader legal community and urge them to become signatories. To this effect, we are asking progressive bloggers in the legal community to simultaneously post about this issue, on the morning of Wednesday, May 16th, when the House will consider a motion to restore habeas.

Join us in demanding Congress ensure that our laws reflect who we are as a society, a people committed to accountability and basic fairness. Also, we encourage you to join us in one of the upcoming district meetings with key Senators or their staff to deliver the message in person.

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Dyer, PhD | Organizing Fellow | Working Assets

I think that the honorable Skelly would approve.

Prison talk - public pretender

Prison Talk Online is an excellent website for us, our clients, and our clients' families, with tons of information resources and forums presented in a supportive, straightforward, straight-shooting way.

When I googled "public pretender," I found this recent exchange:

"My public PRETENDER is a sellout!... (A)lls my attorney wants to do is make a deal for me. He doesnt give a shit."

And a reply:

"As an outside observer, I have to think that the real reason you are in so much trouble is that you seem to have knowingly surrounded your self with folks who have substance abuse issues and who sell drugs; rather than your Pretender being the source of your troubles. Also, I have to think that maybe your Pretender would care about you more as a person if you acted like (you) recognized that their doctorate in law meant they might know a thing or two."

Thank you for that, observer. Like I said, straight talk.

Check out the main site for a

web community... conceived in a prison cell, designed in a halfway house, and funded by donations from families of ex-offenders, to bring those with an interest in the prisoner support community a forum in which their issues and concerns may be addressed by others in similar circumstances and beliefs.

Yellow Dog Democrats and Crime-Fighting Cats

Warmest thanks are due Crime and Federalism and Crim Law for showing me how to pass for a conservative at the next Federalist Society Dog Show and Kennel Club. Maybe FedSoc isn't doubleplusungood after all; they do have good taste in canine companions.
 

This is Annie, though it might be better to pronounce her name "Ayn" if we ever get to meet Ted Olson's Australian shepherds. She might not be accepted at many elite functions because she doesn't come from the finest breeding, but her mix of Blue Heeler and German Shepherd qualities means that not only can she herd calves, but she can also get their drivers' license, registration, and proof of insurance. She came from the pound, pre-named Antenna, just as our springer spaniel was pre-named Trevor. The cats I named, after notable judges: Bubba (the fat cat) and Hugo (the Black cat).

Now, can I get partial credit for having a classmate who named his first-born Antonin?

Thanks are also due to Fed84 and CrimLaw for exposing me to this article, although I suspect it made more sense in the original French. Now, I'm always receptive to any political argument that promises to make the U.S. more like Finland, and I'm looking forward to a future of "decarceration" (maybe not as hopefully as my next-door-neighbor who got busted with all the fixin's for a big batch o' meth, but still...).

However, where is the New York Times article that gives the other side? Who's writing about all the good that prisons do? Such as, well... you know... um... give me a minute. Well, what about this: how will "decarceration" affect our dogs and cats? Without prisons, what will become of Puppies Behind Bars? Or Puppies Up For Parole? Will they go the way of the Lorton 500? What do you say, Mr. Egghead? And you, Dahlia Lithwick, if you're so smart, what about the kittens?

CLE's are better with animals

Best two hours of continuing legal ed ever: "Service Dogs: Our New Partners in Criminal Prosecution."
Now bear with me. Dogs as we know are natural libertarians. I obtained hands-on proof that some staff members of the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, like Jeeter and Ellie here, will roll over to get their bellies rubbed by just about anyone, including the odd public defender.

While the dogs primarily are tasked to work with child witnesses, when they're in the courtroom they're available to anyone who could use some canine attention. They don't do suggestibility. Of course there are objections, but I'd sooner have one dog by the witness stand than any victim / witness human. In one trial supposedly, defense counsel scratched one of the dogs behind the ears throughout his cross (which sounds both pleasurable and a good way to neutralize any pro-prosecution "aww" factor). If the accused wanted the dog up on the stand, too, that's allowable they say. These dogs will give you a tail wag and a big brown-eyed gaze no matter which side you're on.

And what great dogs! These weren't nippers, sniffers, scratchers or biters, all of which will wash you out of doggy boot camp, along with begging and an inordinate interest in cats. The dogs I played with were creampuffs, a mix of Labs and Goldens (I was expecting at least one GSD). They have been trained by volunteers (cuteness overload warning: contains many pictures of puppies) for Canine Companions for Independence. I learned their various job categories: service dogs, skilled companions, facility dogs, and (one they don't list on the website) "change of career dogs" for retirees and flunkees. If the puppy you raise can't cut it, you may get to keep it (for an extra $500 fee).

The last part of the seminar was given over to a dog and human play date. Seldom have I had a better time in a CLE, and never before have I left a CLE with my slacks covered in fur.