Public Defenders Suck - You Must Agree
The landmark 1963 case of Gideon v. Wainwright was the basis for the practice of providing indigent defendants with public defenders to help them in their defense. In that case, Gideon was on trial for stealing money and beer from a bar. He was unable to afford an attorney and argued it as unfair for him to have to stand trial against an attorney experienced in the law. Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed with him and public defenders were born. Some people subscribe to the theory that public defenders suck. And in many cases they may be right. It's really a matter of simple economics. Lawyers are in business to make money and you don't make much money defending people who can't afford your services. In fact, some public defenders work pro bono which means they don't make any money at all. The best attorneys have wealthy clients who can afford to pay high legal fees for the best legal advice and representation. Comparatively, it might be an accurate statement to say that public defenders suck. In general, public defenders are inexperienced attorneys straight out of law school. That makes sense if you think about it. New attorneys don't have any experience and therefore aren't nearly as well-compensated or in demand as the more experienced attorneys. So in order to gain that experience, one option is to become a public defender. So it's safe to say, that public defenders have met the legal requirements to practice law and defend clients but they are also going up against more experienced prosecuting attorneys. Would you want to be the first patient of a new heart surgeon? Probably not. You would pay for the best doctor you could afford. And you would pay for the best attorney you could afford too but if you can't afford an attorney, then you're stuck with a public defender but compared to veteran attorneys, public defenders suck. Most jurisdictions have set up a public defenders office to serve their court systems. It's not uncommon for some defendants to not be able to afford legal representation so in the interest of providing them with a fair opportunity to defend themselves, they will be assigned a public defender who will review the facts of the case and consult with the defendant in order to come up with the best defense against the charges. Not all public defenders suck. As a matter of fact some of them are very sharp and win the majority of their cases. Some are even experienced and have passed up more lucrative private practice in the interest of serving the public be defending those who can't afford legal representation. But these are a minority of public defenders. |
