Public Defenders
Representing ‘Those People,’ Young PD Seeks Justice
Posted Jul 2, 2008, 12:17 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
As a young assistant public defender, Tamara Rice Lave initially thought she could be something of a social worker, helping clients turn their lives around. Now she sees her job as more of a chess game, investigating a case and trying it in a manner that creates reasonable doubt.
Many of her clients in San Diego County, California, are accused of misdemeanors. A prosecutor sought to put a homeless client of hers in jail for 60 days for stealing a shopping cart, for instance, because the man had done so before and hadn't learned his lesson, Lave writes in an upcoming Newsweek article.
She is often asked "how can she represent "those people?" She tells of how she was asked this by a young, white and attractive client who didn't consider herself part of the same group, even though she pleaded guilty to stealing from a disabled patient, apparently while working as a nurse.
"Taken aback, I stared at her," Lave recounts. "But I am representing you!" she told the client.
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Posted by Prosecutor - 2 months, 4 days, 9 hours, 10 minutes ago
I am so sick of the ABA only reporting on defense attorneys and BigLaw. What about the rest of us? I am a prosecutor that handles crimes against children...yes, children who have been beaten, molested and sometimes killed by drunken parents and caretakers. But all the ABA sees fit to report about this neglected segment of lawyer society is how prosecutors hide exculpatory evidence and encourage perjured testimony. I am not asking for accolades or congrats. My greatest reward is when I can help a child be put in a safe and loving environment and know that their abuser will never harm another child again. In my jurisdiction prosecutors make less money public defenders and we work a hell of a lot harder. When is the ABA going to recognize that “Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice” applies to more that the supposed defenders of the downtrodden criminals. What about the defenders of the downtrodden victims? What about the selfless people that work against incredible odds to help those without a voice? Believe me, criminal defendants have a big voice in the courtroom, often the loudest, thanks to their game-playing, delay-tactic using, true-believing attorneys. But at the end of the day we are simply the unethical, conniving agents of the government who want to use all the awe-inspiring power of the state to imprison innocent people. Reasonable doubt is a difficult burden and even more so in sexual assault and abuse cases. How about writing about the true defenders and pursuers of liberty and justice? We have a responsibility to both the victim and defendant to ensure that justice is done. Defense attorneys have one priority, and could care less about the victim and oftentimes cannot even handle that. Many times a PD will let their client sit in jail to prove a point. Please tell me how that is justice? When did constitutional rights become one big excuse to make a mockery of the justice system?