[Vision2020] Shoes thrown at President Bush

Sunil Ramalingam sunilramalingam at hotmail.com
Fri Dec 19 17:21:13 PST 2008














Chas,

Most of my new clients are accused, not convicted. I do very little appellate work.  Under my public defender contract, and most in the state, felony appeals are handled by the Appellate PD office in Boise, run by Moscow's own
Molly Huskey.  They do excellent work and are a great resource for us,
always willing to help out. I do get appointed to some Post Conviction Petition cases, but not very many of those come in.  Those are almost always filed by prisoners, and once filed PDs are appointed to represent them.

Almost all of my current convicted clients are on probation, or are on the retained jurisdiction program in the prison system (the 'rider' program, sometimes called the boot camp program); if the latter succeed, they will be placed on probation.  I continue to represent them while they are on probation, and it's always my hope I won't have to see them again, as that will mean they are succeeding on probation.

Immediately after reading Donovan's post, which I will try not to describe, I read a post on a criminal defense listserve to which I belong.  I won't identify the poster, but this is what he said about why we do what we do:

"the reason for our organization is for all of us to know we are not
alone in the battles we engage in day in and day out.  that there are
many criminal defense lawyers in idaho all of whom try to provide
a voice to the segment of our society who are voiceless and
powerless, who are the left behind and left out and we are just trying
to provide them with a small bit of dignity and respect. we continue to
fight for their rights, for justice and for their freedom. that's the
reason for the organization."

I think that describes what I aspire to, far better than I could have said.  Many of my clients grew up in horrific environments, and continue to live in poverty.  There's no shortage of people ready and willing to judge them, prior to any finding or admission of guilt.  We are here because they too have the right to representation, and the right to challenge the state on their behalf. People may not like it, but they get to have someone give a damn for them.

I'm a public defender because I believe that everyone is entitled to counsel under our Constitution.  Any thinking person ought to be able to understand that the right to counsel is meaningless if people are not willing to represent them; certainly thinking people have made that point here today.  I will not pretend for a minute to be some SuperLawyer, and some of my clients sitting in the pen will agree.  There are several criminal defense lawyers in town that I know are better than I am.  But I hope I always do my best for my clients, regardless of what they are charged with, and no matter what my personal view of the evidence is.   It's the exception when I can't see some humanity in them; there are very few that I haven't appreciated in some way.

If Donovan thinks I should do something else, that's his opinion.  I haven't lost much sleep over it. I won't pretend to understand how he can decide that I should not do work that I choose because I believe in principles embedded in our Constitution.  I can't understand how he can accuse me of expediency when I take consistent positions that reflect what I believe to be Constitutional values.  I'm baffled that first he exhorts me to work for the poor, and then libels me for not serving him in the way he finds appropriate.  I'd tell him about the folks whose sidewalks I shovel, but then he might show up in my neighborhood.

Sunil
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:33:06 +0000
Subject: Re: Re: Re: [Vision2020] Shoes thrown at President Bush
From: chasuk at gmail.com
To: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com; vision2020 at moscow.com; sunilramalingam at hotmail.com; chasuk at gmail.com

On Dec 19, 2008 3:07pm, Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Your statement, "Does this mean that only the stupid and incapable should become public defenders?", can only assume that anyone with lesser talent of Sunil is "incapable and stupid." I disagree with that assessment. There are plenty of other competent lawyer's that are not as good as Sunil.

And:

> I think there are more noble causes in life to fight for than the release of a slew of convicted serial child molesters.

Sunil works with both the accused and the convicted, although I imagine that he spends more time with the former than the latter.  Hopefully, Sunil will enlighten us on that point.

So the accused don't deserve the best defense possible?  Or is it only the convicted who deserve a second-rate defense?  If Sunil happens to think -- as I hope he does -- that we are all equal under the law, then I wonder how he reconciles giving his best on days that he represents the accused, and giving his second-best on days that he represents the convicted?

Comments, Sunil?

> If I was a good lawyer, wanting to do good, freeing child molesters and criminals back into my community would not be a first cause I would champion.

Sunil might feel that defending the unjustly accused -- possibly from the death penalty or a lifetime of incarceration -- is as important as plowing snow.

His clients should understand when he tells them: "Look, I know that the attorney replacing me isn't nearly as good as I am, but he is competent, I swear!  But I need to use my talents on nobler causes like widening sidewalks and affordable housing.  Say hello to your wife and kids for me when you get out of prison."

Of course, all of the causes you listed are genuinely important.  I'm not mocking them.

Each and every one of us could be doing more to make the world a better place, and Sunil is already doing more than I am, or will likely ever do.

Are you sure that you are qualified to throw stones?
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