Fwd: [Vision2020] The niceties of public defense

Fri, 9 Jan 2004 05:35:48 EST

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Debbie et. al.

Some of my statements in the post you objected to did require some 
qualification.

Far from thinking public defenders are overpaid, I think they need to be paid 
more, with sufficient oversight, of course.  I think guaranteeing fairness in 
our legal system to all regardless of income to be a critical component in 
the functioning of our democracy, as critical to the health of our system as a 
national defense, and as worthy of funding.  When the courts appear to give the 
rich access to the best defenses in court, while the poor get irregular and 
sometimes incompetent defense, it undermines faith in our system, creates 
cynicism and mistrust in government and law enforcement, and disenfranchises 
people.  We need more and better paid public defenders in general.  The current 
system varies tremendously from state to state in terms of how well public defense 
in court is funded.

I am sure you are correct that there are pubic defenders in Moscow who work 
hard on behalf of their indigent clients.

Ted

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<HTML>
 Debbie et. al.
 
 Some of my statements in the post you objected to did require some quali=
fication.
 
 Far from thinking public defenders are overpaid, I think they need to be=
 paid more, with sufficient oversight, of course. &nbsp;I think guaranteeing=
 fairness in our legal system to all regardless of income to be a critical c=
omponent in the functioning of our democracy, as critical to the health of o=
ur system as a national defense, and as worthy of funding. &nbsp;When the co=
urts appear to give the rich access to the best defenses in court, while the=
 poor get irregular and sometimes incompetent defense, it undermines faith i=
n our system, creates cynicism and mistrust in government and law enforcemen=
t, and disenfranchises people. &nbsp;We need more and better paid public def=
enders in general. &nbsp;The current system varies tremendously from state t=
o state in terms of how well public defense in court is funded.
 
 I am sure you are correct that there are pubic defenders in Moscow who w=
ork hard on behalf of their indigent clients.
 
 Ted</HTML>

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From: Aldoussoma@aol.com
Message-ID: <17.412a4134.2d2e5af4@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] The niceties of public defense
To: auntiestablishment@hotmail.com, vision2020@moscow.com
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Auntiestablishment et.al.

Oh, but indeed, the public defenders are there to make life easy for law 
enforcement and to make friends with the prosecutor.  Can you imagine what would 
happen to our law enforcement and legal system if public defenders were like 
Alan Dershowitz?  Cops would be testifying in court so often, and be charged 
with misconduct with such regularity, that the Feds might have to send 87 billion 
to America's cities as an infrastructure rebuilding grant to help secure 
Democracy in the USA.  

And being buddy buddy with the prosecutor, swapping deals on cases so both 
the PD and prosecutor get what they want, helps keep both sides happy.  If 
public defenders were defending all their cases aggressively, the courts could not 
handle the work.  Oh, sure, there are innocent people who get sent up the 
river, while some real scary bad asses go free, but as long as the voters think 
the prosecutor is taking on the dangerous crime, i. e. the stuff the media 
pushes to exploit the hysteria of the public to push the nielsen ratings and sell 
advertising, then the prosecutor is an electable savior.

Till we regulate the cost of lawyers to bring it closer to what the average 
Joe or Jane can afford, we will never have a fair legal system.  Not many 
public defenders will work hard on a defense with the pay they get, and the best 
lawyers, with only a few exceptions, go for the money, which means they are NOT 
doing PD cases.

Ted

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<HTML>
 Auntiestablishment et.al.
 
 Oh, but indeed, the public defenders are there to make life easy for law=
 enforcement and to make friends with the prosecutor. &nbsp;Can you imagine=20=
what would happen to our law enforcement and legal system if public defender=
s were like Alan Dershowitz? &nbsp;Cops would be testifying in court so ofte=
n, and be charged with misconduct with such regularity, that the Feds might=20=
have to send 87 billion to America's cities as an infrastructure rebuilding=20=
grant to help secure Democracy in the USA. &nbsp;
 
 And being buddy buddy with the prosecutor, swapping deals on cases so bo=
th the PD and prosecutor get what they want, helps keep both sides happy. &n=
bsp;If public defenders were defending all their cases aggressively, the cou=
rts could not handle the work. &nbsp;Oh, sure, there are innocent people who=
 get sent up the river, while some real scary bad asses go free, but as long=
 as the voters think the prosecutor is taking on the dangerous crime, i. e.=20=
the stuff the media pushes to exploit the hysteria of the public to push the=
 nielsen ratings and sell advertising, then the prosecutor is an electable s=
avior.
 
 Till we regulate the cost of lawyers to bring it closer to what the aver=
age Joe or Jane can afford, we will never have a fair legal system. &nbsp;No=
t many public defenders will work hard on a defense with the pay they get, a=
nd the best lawyers, with only a few exceptions, go for the money, which mea=
ns they are NOT doing PD cases.
 
 Ted</HTML>

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