I Am a Real Lawyer!
In the court in which I practice, we usually interview our new clients before we are officially appointed to represent them. Then we appear before the judge and the judge informs the client of his rights and appoints us to represent him.On one particular day, I had spent about half an hour talking with a man who had been named as a father to a neglected child. When he appeared before the bench, the judge gave his usual reading of the rights just before the following exchange occurred:
Judge: You have the right to be represented by a lawyer. If you can not afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you. Now, sir, I ask whether you wish to be represented by a lawyer?
Client: No thanks, Judge. I'm ok with my public defender.
Doh!
As much as I appreciated the vote of confidence, I was still a bit annoyed to hear him express the widespread misconception that public defenders are not actually lawyers.
Sometimes it is just semantics, e.g. when "public defenders" are contrasted with "private attorneys." This contrast unintentionally implies that public defenders are not attorneys. Whatever the reason, many people believe that public defenders are not lawyers.
For those of you who don't know this, public defenders are lawyers. In order to become a public defender, you must have a law degree and you must be admitted to your state's bar. That makes you a lawyer.
This article from Illinois makes for an interesting story by itself (allegations of fraud, a bitter rivalry between defense attorneys), but my particular interest in it was this passage:
She claims Hanken told her that, because she had no criminal record, she would be charged only with a misdemeanor. She asked if she needed an attorney, and Hanken allegedly told her she'd be fine with a public defender.
Almost verbatim what my client said in court. This article suggests 1.) that public defenders are not lawyers, and 2.) that a public defender failed to help her. In truth, she would have been fine with a public defender. However, it appears that she didn't speak to any type of attorney before signing the confession.
These incidents are simultaneously a source of great frustration and great amusement for public defenders. Almost every public defender has one of these stories.
posted by Public Defense @ 12/13/2005
3 Comments:
I meant to respond to this earlier.
I've put up both my undergrad and law diplomas in fancy frames in my office. I think it goes along way when clients and/or their families come to visit.
Well, everyone has their perception of things. Maybe he's trying to point out that there are acting lawyers and real lawyers. It seems like what he needed was a public defender after all.
He just needs a little more understanding of things. Sometimes people have to have a different perspective in life to realize a sense of peace and harmony within themselves. If that’s what he believes, then the other party should therefore make him comprehend.
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