Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Apply for Membership

Categories

Public Defenders

AlejandroAlejandro Member Inactive ⭐
in General 2424 karma
Take a 14 minute break from studying to watch this video. Made me consider becoming a public defender myself ;(


Show Related Discussions

Comments

  • KimberlyKKimberlyK Alum Member
    217 karma
    It is a sad state of affairs when it comes to Public Defenders... Harris County, the largest county in Texas by population (third most populated in the country), only has a fledgling Public Defenders office and Galveston County still has none....

    John Oliver +1
  • leonsmoneyleonsmoney Member
    280 karma
    Great video! Thanks for sharing. Made a nice break from studying :)
  • LoraxManLoraxMan Alum Member
    180 karma
    Did not see this John Oliver piece, thanks for sharing.

    Another (former) public defender in the news:

    http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/14/the-worst-of-the-worst
  • notwilliamwallacenotwilliamwallace Alum Member
    1049 karma
    Love John Oliver and his ability to take on subtle social issues. Thanks for sharing.
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @Alejandro said:
    Made me consider becoming a public defender myself ;(
    Yes maybe one day a week or so. My atty friend worked in the Dallas PDef office a few days a week ... It's not a pleasant environment and the pay is laughable. Ultimately I think you have to have a peculiar kind of calling to be able to do that kind of grueling work for almost no money. $700/case like on Better Call Saul is a pipe dream—I believe it's usually half that per case?
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @Alejandro BUT there will be opportunities in law school to work in the PD office—would be a good time to test it out to see if that's your calling!
  • Accounts PlayableAccounts Playable Live Sage ⭐
    3107 karma
    Two of my favorite blogs have some interesting posts on public defenders, in case anyone wants to read them:

    http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/04/debtors-prison-for-failure-to-pay-for-your-own-trial.html (I remembered reading this one a while ago, so I had to dig a little bit to find it).

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-public-defender-system-isnt-just-broken--its-unconstitutional/2015/09/03/aadf2b6c-519b-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8_story.html

    As an aside, Marginal Revolution (the first blog) is a really good law and economics blog. The other one, The Volokh Conspiracy, is probably the premier law blog in the Internet. For all lawyers/aspiring lawyers, it is a must read. Lots of cool posts on those.

  • lpadr009lpadr009 Free Trial Member
    379 karma
    wow this is really eye opening, but kind of makes me want to be a PD due to stories like at minute 4:00. and LOL at university of roachester. lmao
  • YiliansGYiliansG Member
    edited September 2015 29 karma
    I actually work for the Office of the Public Defender in New Jersey as an investigator. NJ has some of the best offices with plenty of resources but in no way does it compare to a successful private firm. The amount of cases that we get is ridiculous. It truly puts our clients at an unfair disadvantage. Working for the PD has molded me into a completely different person. Its taught me to be grateful for all the things that I have. It's also changed my perception of right and wrong. Its a lot of work but its very rewarding at the end of the day. I want to go to law school to hopefully become a Public Defender.
  • kervins1914kervins1914 Free Trial Member
    3 karma
    @alejandro thanks for sharing the video; it's very insightful.
  • AlejandroAlejandro Member Inactive ⭐
    2424 karma
    Thanks @kervins1914 !!! I'm glad you enjoyed. It's definitely a reassurance that the legal path is my calling and a noble/fulfilling profession.
  • kervins1914kervins1914 Free Trial Member
    3 karma
    I agree, and appreciate videos like this because the profession is not for everyone. @alejandro
  • Alex ShortAlex Short Alum Member
    112 karma
    Thanks so much for posting. Sometimes I need to be reminded how a lawyer can do good for people, and personally, this exemplifies a broken justice system... one that our generation better fix.

    Also thanks for the links to the blogs above! @accountspayable if you have any other links to blogs/interesting legal news, I'd really appreciate a DM or reply
Sign In or Register to comment.