Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Tue, Oct 12 2004
Blind, Balanced And Budget-starved
I read something this morning that sounds like a Law and Order Episode, but so far it's a very real Monterey County issue. Many cases may have to be retried if a public defender there is found to have been practicing law without a license in California.
Monterey County isn't the only place having difficulty. Growing populations in California counties mean more crimes, but while need grows, there are fewer attorneys in some places, including San Bernardino County. The whole state of Louisiana is in crisis with its indigent defense system. Missoula County, in Montana, is turning to private attorneys to take on more cases until they can get enough public defenders hired to handle the load. And at least one article is reporting that public defenders in Thurston County (Seattle area), Washington, have been working from home and even working out of their cars after losing the lease on their office.
It's bad enough that we might not be spending enough to make sure everyone has access to legal counsel. But the idea that we aren't spending enough to guarantee certification and office space for that counsel makes us look pretty downtrodden in a nation that brags of the best justice system in the world.
Awhile back someone took time to compile a list of images of Lady Justice. I guess some of us have always romanticized the idea of a fair and impartial legal system. While that sounds good, the reality is that we'd better be willing to put some money into the budget for it, or we're liable to see less of the scales of Justice and a lot more of that sword she holds ready to stab with in her other hand.
posted at: 12:11 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
I read something this morning that sounds like a Law and Order Episode, but so far it's a very real Monterey County issue. Many cases may have to be retried if a public defender there is found to have been practicing law without a license in California.
Monterey County isn't the only place having difficulty. Growing populations in California counties mean more crimes, but while need grows, there are fewer attorneys in some places, including San Bernardino County. The whole state of Louisiana is in crisis with its indigent defense system. Missoula County, in Montana, is turning to private attorneys to take on more cases until they can get enough public defenders hired to handle the load. And at least one article is reporting that public defenders in Thurston County (Seattle area), Washington, have been working from home and even working out of their cars after losing the lease on their office.
It's bad enough that we might not be spending enough to make sure everyone has access to legal counsel. But the idea that we aren't spending enough to guarantee certification and office space for that counsel makes us look pretty downtrodden in a nation that brags of the best justice system in the world.
Awhile back someone took time to compile a list of images of Lady Justice. I guess some of us have always romanticized the idea of a fair and impartial legal system. While that sounds good, the reality is that we'd better be willing to put some money into the budget for it, or we're liable to see less of the scales of Justice and a lot more of that sword she holds ready to stab with in her other hand.
posted at: 12:11 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
