Florida's Worst Public Defender?
Be glad you're not poor, living in Florida, and assigned Charley Demosthenous. If you don't want to wade through the article, allow me to summarize it:This practicing attorney had to beg his professors for Ds, has ADD, is a walking nightmare of disorganization, and failed the bar 3 times. He has a great deal of personal problems, including a poor self-image (which he apparently is entitled to). Heck, even his dad kept telling him to quit and go work at Lowes.
He is now working at the Public Defender's office because "the bosses at the Public Defender's Office love an underdog."
Puh-leeze. The love him because he's cheap. One of my best friends is a prominent attorney here. And (as she's said many times) every attorney knows that if you're a total loser, you can always go into public law.
How sad if, when everyone is guaranteed a right to be represented by an attorney, you're innocent but too poor to hire Johnny Cochran and you get this schlub.
I think this is supposed to be a 'feel-good' article, but I'm not sure about how the reporter was positioning the story. After all the guy wins some cases, right? Yet even he admits that the only reason he wins them is due to the intense coaching he gets from his boss, and "often, with a young client's fate in his hands, he still feels like he's fumbling blind through a labyrinth."
The Public Defender's office is technically upholding the letter of the law by providing this guy to the public. But I'd rather be represented by Bozo the Clown.However, there is good news: If he represented you, and you wish to get a retrial, all you need is this article in your hand and that reporter in your witness box. It will be easy to prove incompetancy.
24 comments:
I'm glad I'm not poor, living in Florida and in trouble with the law.
But what if you were?
So we have a justice system that favours the rich over the poor (much as in the UK)? How can this be acceptable, justice and the law depends on your financial status?
Where is the equality in that?
And we call ourselves civilised...
PS: can you explain your monetary objection to gay weddings please? I am a little confused, in ref to this post:
http://danielhg.blogspot.com/2006/01/gay-wedding.html
PS again: apologies for getting carried away with the bigot jibe I feel heavy about the Palestinian oppression but that was out of hand.
Sorry.
Daniel, Don't worry! You were right, it DID sound bigoted. And your point was correct (Everyone: you can see the exchange in Polanco's blog). As for the monetary objection to gay marriage, just go here to see my viewpoint on it.
Yikes. I hope I never need public defense, I think I would just defend myself. That probably sounds unrealistic, but it really is something I have always thought would be cool.
Eddo, It's funny, because technically we can represent ourselves. However, they respect you less and the judges don't have to try to help you in any way. So, we only have a justice system that works for those who have the money for it. Sad.
Mike, d-i-v-o-r-c-e; find out what it means to me... Yeah, been there/done that. Good luck with it.
Bryan, dontcha know it?!
I read this article too. Just like everything else in Flordia, dumbing down and cheap.
OMG. I am slightly shocked that the Defenders office let this happen! Almost amusing is the slant taken by the reporter. What in the hell is going on here. Scary all the way around.
In my humble, yet experienced opinion, public defenders have one function - make deals. They, in collusion with the DA, try to get these cases through the court as quickly as possible. They are not interested in going to trial whether or not the defendant is guilty. Around here we call them public pretenders.
Mike
PS: Don't feel bad about the rat. It's in rat heaven: endless cheese and no cats.
I personally have met only one lawyer that was worth her weight in gold.... all the rest were interested in billing up hours (and minutes), while letting me do most of the legwork, and their secretaries the computer work.
Where are the real Jack McCoys when you need them?
What truly surprises me is that these jesters of our justice system are allowed to practice law at all. This is such a mockery to the profession.
No wonder why there are so many jokes that compare them to pond scum.
I don't know for whom to feel sorry: the rat, the lawyer, or his clients.
awesome picture of a clown
I've been reading this article. Each installment had me more horrified. I can't believe that things are so bad that it's come to this.
That's crazy!! But it's like a lot of other fields too - you always get less pay in government jobs than in private industry - so the good engineers, and treatment plant operators, and, and, and....go elsewhere, and we all suffer...
Two rats in one post!
Sorry about the furry one.
As for the legal one, that's pretty wild.
Oh, I can tell you one thing, if I am in trouble, I am going to run, not walk straight to Charley's office.....NOT! haha
It is amazing how some people think of themselves as part of a profession when they are really not worthy. My boyfriend works (as an intern while still in school) in IT and his "supervisor" has to get him to do all of the job requests, because she is simply clueless.
I hate clowns. This picture made me think of the horrendous children's programing on the TCT network on Saturday mornings. They think entertaining Christian programming for kids is a clown quoting scripture and juggling at the same time.
Well, you would surely get a more colorful representation with Bozo.
Actually, I know some excellent public defenders, and attorneys appointed by the court. More often than not, they are experts in their field of the law, and a 'general attorney' who does not know criminal law, but may take a case for the money, more often than not ends up asking the advice of a P.D.
There are good and bad in every field, but one thing is completely certain: Johnny Cochran was in a class by himself, an outstanding attorney and his untimely death was a great loss to so many.
Well, this helps me understand what has happened to some young people I know in Florida.
By the way, I answered your last comment on my blog. Honestly, I can visualize you as angry (this post proves it), but I can't visualize you as a hater. I really hope you didn't think that was pointed at you.
Saur,
Excellent post.
I remember begging one of my Professors to give me a D+ instead of a C-. Perception is everything.
Bozo was one of the managers at TSA when I worked there! That clown gets a LOT of jobs.
That makes me mad because I dropped out of a pre-law program when I was 24. If I had only known that being ignorant of ones abilities was the pre-requisite for becoming a lawyer.....
Perseverance of the ignorant kind.
egad people, it is incompetency, not incompetancy.
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