You're Good at This - You should be an attorney

There are endless terms a client might use to distinguish a Public Defender from a private attorney. "I'm going to get a..." : "paid attorney", "real attorney", "barred attorney"... and many times, just "attorney", as if entirely discounting the possibility that I am an attorney too. Honestly, I'm used to this now and I rarely flinch at the terms. I hardly even bother to grumble anymore, "I'm an attorney too, sir..." The way I see it, for the most part, our clients are poor. The things the government gives them for free are rarely of quality or without strings/consequence. Why would the government (you know, the ones who arrested you in the first place) offer you a good defense, free of charge? The more savvy client will even point out that you are paid by the same entity that is trying to put him/her behind bars (the prosecutor).

What's been bothering me these days are these mysterious attorneys out there who give clients "advice" that they can only hope will lead to a retainer ($$$$). For example, "the State has nothing, this case will be dropped", "I will have you out of jail by the end of the week (not possible)", "I will file a Motion for Discovery, Motion for Acquittal, Motion for Victory.." You get my point. Of course, these stories must be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes the client that relays these messages back to their PD (naturally, in an effort to demonstrate why you aren't doing the right thing), there could be a bit of "telephone syndrome" going on... meaning, that is NOT what the attorney said, or it is taken out of context (basically, they remembered the parts they wanted to hear). I have certainly had a client tell ME that I promised something that I didnt - but that's apparently what they heard. Then we have to allow for the fact that the "attorney" they are speaking to is a little bit less of a law school graduate, more Uncle Frank who always wanted to go to law school, or neighbor guy who took a class on criminal law in college.

But, after we allow for all of this, it's most important to focus on the actual attorneys out there doing this. A private attorney, especially in a one or two person firm (as many of the criminal law firms are) have to "hustle". My cases come to me (in droves) and they have to recruit theirs. So, it becomes more important I suppose to stand out from the rest of the faces in the Yellow Pages, maybe with a few little promises that the justice system would never allow you to keep. This does such a disservice to A-the impoverished uneducated client facing (sometimes) prison, who wants so badly to hear you promise it will be ok that he/she is willing to pay to hear you say it; and B - ME! and all public defenders, who, at the end of the day, still handle the case after the client went out to shop for advice they would later hold over your head.

Let's put it this way; I am never (ok, rarely) offended by a client who thinks I didnt graduate high school. I am always (ok, usually) offended by the private attorneys who throw PD's under the proverbial bus. Let's face it, we are the "competition" (even though we would struggle to see it that way; please, take some of my cases!)... and sometimes, you have to convince someone that there's a reason to leave the competition. But the fact is, most private attorneys practicing criminal law were PD's or prosecutors at some point...

This is all reminding me of why I'm glad I work where I do. That's what I'll blog about next...

My Inspiration

People always tell me to start a blog. I'd like to think it's a reflection of my charm and wit, but really, most people can't help but love (or be entertained by) the stories of the people and things I come across in my daily life.

I'm a Public Defender (also known as "public pretender") in Florida, so, basically, my job is like a tv show. In fact, I've promised my 3rd floor lunch group that I would chronicle our stories in some way so we could someday pitch them to a tv producer. So, sometimes I can't share all that I want (confidentiality and respect for the people I talk about), but I want to try my best to bring it all to you (and, in some way, get a little stress relief from the day in sharing).

To begin, I've started with my inspiration :

Today I was in court, surrounded by some of my female colleagues. The Judge was calling trial cases and we were waiting to see what would happen with our own clients for the day. Our conversation was probably some typical mix of pre-trial jitters and advice, and maybe a little bit of what was on tv last night. A silvery-haired dude, a lawyer of the "paid" variety, walks by with that air of superiority (Public Defender's are like lowest-of-low-scum-on-bottom-of-totem-pole, no matter how many times they ask our advice, and despite the fact that almost every criminal defense attorney started as one), and says:

"What is this, The View? All of the ladies have taken over the courtroom."

Now, we all decided within minutes that this was most likely his best attempt at a joke (or, even more pitiful, maybe even flirting???)... but this is offensive for many reasons.

1. I still DVR The View and watch it religiously.

2. Because I watch The View every day, I know that it is a total bitchfest and that several of the castmates are complete idiots.

3. The statement kind of begs the assumption that the courtroom is not a place for women, since we have to take it over and all.

So, I have decided to dedicate my blog to this. In a way, it's funny, because I love stupid reality tv and plan to talk about it a lot. I also plan to be really opinionated in a way that I can only hope will piss people off in the same way Elisabeth Hasselbeck can get me going. But, also, it is a constant reminder of my "place" in the courtroom. If it isn't a client who thinks I'm a pretend lawyer, then it's a good ol' boy who thinks it's appropriate to call me "little girl" in the courtroom (yes, it's happened).

Yes, that's right, I'm still complaining about a woman's place in the workplace. Prepare for feminist rant here. I've had male colleagues twice my age comment on how "cute" I am (while I am worrrrking, people), and I had a client ask me if I was another attorney's secretary when I told him I'd be covering his office conference.

My solution is to bitch, and this is my outlet. Welcome to the view....