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RE: Two Degrees of Emancipation Between You and a Jail Cell
A big part of the problem is that public defender offices are underfunded, and the attorneys are overworked and often inexperienced. People who don't have confidence that their attorney can give their case adequate time might opt for a sure thing, which means a disproportionate percentage of poor people will go to prison. It costs money to put on a vigorous defense, even without attorney fees, if you need to find witnesses or hire experts.
Add in asinine laws such as cannabis prohibition, cities and counties that fill budget gaps with fines, a privatized prison system, and people moving around without their mail necessarily following, and you have what now exists in the U.S.
Yes, more than 95% of convicted felons never stand trial.
Public defenders seem to have an ulterior motive. By seeing their client go to jail yields them additional billable hours to the state doesn't it?
Within the last month I found a live leak video somewhere that said "don't piss off the public defender" or something of that sort. Basically the Judge settled the case with the accused with a $280 fine, credit for time served, and 2 more days in jail. After the accused left the video, the public defender pleaded with the judge to reverse his decision pending a mental evaluation, and the judge did. I couldn't believe it. I tried to find that video again, and for the life of me, I can't find it on youtube where I first saw it. If everyone knows what I'm talking about, please reply with a link.
I think that at least in larger cities, public defenders are salaried, and salaries are low, given the education requirements. (I think the duty may be circulated among local attorneys in some places.) Plea deals let public defenders keep their caseloads manageable, same as for assistant district attorneys, and they don't have to try iffy cases.
Well, I don't know about that. I'm sure it happens in some places, but then I have known some public defenders who definitely would never stoop to that and money was not their primary motivator.
No, if money were their motivation, they would be in corporate law or civil litigation.
right? ha