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Our court system in my county does not have a public defenders office. Individual attorneys in private practice are brought in to fulfill the duty. It saves the county a ton as these attorneys are paid almost nothing per defendant and the county does not have to pay benefits or overhead for an office.
Defendants still under arrest are brought into the courtroom in their stylish orange jump suits and are seated in the jury box. When the attorney finds out which defendant he or she has been assigned to, the attorney will read the prosecutor file, then go over to the defendant and explain what is happening, what the defendant has been charged with, what the attorney’s opinion of the case is and what the plea bargain offer is. Usually, these guys charged with misdemeanors are given time served.
Once, I witnessed one of the attorneys go over to a defendant who already had shown he was an attitude problem. Before the attorney had finished explaining everything, the defendant yelled out, “Man, you an idiot. I tol’ you the bitch ain’t pressing no charges.”
The attorney calmly stepped back, and I heard him explain to the defendant that the idiot had chosen the parking lot of a convenience store to smack his girlfriend around, and that two police officers were parked in the parking lot and witnessed the whole thing. Whether or not she wanted to press charges no longer mattered as the police themselves would be witnesses. In this state, the victim usually cannot get a domestic violence charge dropped as there is a strong public policy against it. The attorney then repeated that the defendant was being offered time served, so he would be out within a day or so if he plead guilty.
The guy started screaming how stupid the attorney was for not getting the whole thing dismissed. It was then that he added that there was a warrant out for him from California for attempted murder that they were not going to stick him with either. The attorney excused himself and walked over to the now wide-eyed prosecutor who had heard the outburst. They talked for a short while, then the prosecutor went back to an office.
She came back a few minutes later and spoke to someone from the sheriff’s office, then filled out some paperwork. The attorney handed the paperwork to the judge who asked if the prosecutor was sure that she wanted to do what the paperwork stated. She confirmed that she wanted to do it, and explained exactly why. The warrant now was for murder - and our state had not been aware of it until the defendant mentioned it.
The judge, who also had heard the defendant yelling at his attorney, said “Very well, then” and dismissed the case so that the defendant could be taken to California the next day. He then smiled at the defendant and said, “And I hope you fry.”
The defendant began screaming at the attorney that the judge couldn’t talk to him that way and that he wanted the attorney to do something about it. The attorney just smiled and said that he had done his job to get the case dismissed like the defendant had demanded, and now no longer represented him.
We could hear the defendant still fussing and yelling in the holding cell after he was taken out of the courtroom.
Defendants still under arrest are brought into the courtroom in their stylish orange jump suits and are seated in the jury box. When the attorney finds out which defendant he or she has been assigned to, the attorney will read the prosecutor file, then go over to the defendant and explain what is happening, what the defendant has been charged with, what the attorney’s opinion of the case is and what the plea bargain offer is. Usually, these guys charged with misdemeanors are given time served.
Once, I witnessed one of the attorneys go over to a defendant who already had shown he was an attitude problem. Before the attorney had finished explaining everything, the defendant yelled out, “Man, you an idiot. I tol’ you the bitch ain’t pressing no charges.”
The attorney calmly stepped back, and I heard him explain to the defendant that the idiot had chosen the parking lot of a convenience store to smack his girlfriend around, and that two police officers were parked in the parking lot and witnessed the whole thing. Whether or not she wanted to press charges no longer mattered as the police themselves would be witnesses. In this state, the victim usually cannot get a domestic violence charge dropped as there is a strong public policy against it. The attorney then repeated that the defendant was being offered time served, so he would be out within a day or so if he plead guilty.
The guy started screaming how stupid the attorney was for not getting the whole thing dismissed. It was then that he added that there was a warrant out for him from California for attempted murder that they were not going to stick him with either. The attorney excused himself and walked over to the now wide-eyed prosecutor who had heard the outburst. They talked for a short while, then the prosecutor went back to an office.
She came back a few minutes later and spoke to someone from the sheriff’s office, then filled out some paperwork. The attorney handed the paperwork to the judge who asked if the prosecutor was sure that she wanted to do what the paperwork stated. She confirmed that she wanted to do it, and explained exactly why. The warrant now was for murder - and our state had not been aware of it until the defendant mentioned it.
The judge, who also had heard the defendant yelling at his attorney, said “Very well, then” and dismissed the case so that the defendant could be taken to California the next day. He then smiled at the defendant and said, “And I hope you fry.”
The defendant began screaming at the attorney that the judge couldn’t talk to him that way and that he wanted the attorney to do something about it. The attorney just smiled and said that he had done his job to get the case dismissed like the defendant had demanded, and now no longer represented him.
We could hear the defendant still fussing and yelling in the holding cell after he was taken out of the courtroom.
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