NM: enough with the physical attacks on p.d.'s, now

From KOAT, Albuquerque:

Public Defenders Assaulted At MDC

Two members of the public defender's office are recovering at home Thursday night after being assaulted by a Metro Detention Center inmate, jailers said...

From KOB (with broadcast video):

Inmate attacks women at metro detention center

Two women from the public defenders office survived a brutal beating Thursday morning at the Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center...

This sh*t has to stop.

NM: "no skin off my nose"

From the Farmington Daily Times:

District public defender cleared of contempt charge

The county's top public defender, who was jailed for nearly two hours March 16 after Aztec Magistrate Judge Wilma Charley found him in contempt of court, was officially cleared of the conviction. "I am pleased but not surprised by the decision," District Public Defender Christian Hatfield said. "I was doing my job..."

Hatfield said he hopes the court order dispels any fears young attorneys may have in supporting the constitution because they feel threatened. "I hope that (situation) never comes to pass," he said. "Then again, going to jail once in a while is no skin off my nose..."

NM: the whole 'free-floating anger at the clients' thing boils over

Down Las Cruces way, Michael (who seems to relate to Ron Livingston in "Band of Brothers" and probably in "Office Space" too) explains his recent behavior:

How most criminal defense attorneys feel...

I (used to, up until last week) work as a public defender in a medium sized college town in southern NM. Last week, I had a motion hearing on a very specific point of law; my client was a 22 or 23 year old punk...

At this point he mumbled something again about me being a "rookie" and I yelled "F*ck You!" He screamed it back and at that point, I grabbed his orange pajamas and pulled him toward me. At the same time I pulled back my fist to pop him in the nose...

I resigned the next day. You see, most public defenders don't like they're clients. They hate them as much as the general public... We are just doing our duty (somebody has to do it), to uphold the constitution. I'm just glad I'm not doing it anymore...

Assuming this is non-fiction, I guess I would tell the writer, "I'm glad you're not doing it anymore too. Get some r 'n' r, but speak for yourself about the 'most p.d.'s feel this way' thing."

Bonus link: not in response to this but obliquely on point, a law student reflects on clinic and disrespect:

The students and some of the professors in this clinic should get oscars for how dramatic and exasperated they get from even the most minor things our clients do or say... Frankly, they should not be defending people if they have such a hard time dealing with it...

NM: a boss who has your back

Homage to Christian Hatfield, choosing the right and going to jail for his troubles. From the Farmington Daily Times:

Chief public defender put in jail: Judge finds attorney in contempt of court

Chief Public Defender Christian Hatfield spent nearly two hours in jail Friday morning after Aztec Magistrate Judge Wilma Charley found him in contempt of court...

The chief public defender's arrest stemmed from a decision to not back down from an ethical duty, Hatfield said. Stephen Taylor, an attorney with the Public Defender's Office, was representing 23-year-old Ismael Cordova on a misdemeanor charge of battery against a household member, he said. Taylor realized he previously represented a witness scheduled to testify against Cordova during the 23-year-old man's Friday morning trial...

Believing there would be a conflict of interest when the witness arrived in court Friday morning, Taylor called Hatfield to the courtroom. Hatfield said he told Charley the trial should be postponed and another attorney needed to be appointed to the case.

"I said it was an ethical violation, and she basically said, OK, go to jail," he said.

Miss Tyrios admires him. Ruth works with him:

The upshot was that my boss went to jail so that my co-worker wouldn't have to. Now, that's a good boss! He has always backed us up when we needed him to, whether it was in front of judges, DAs, or the state big-wigs. We know that we can stand our ground and do our jobs to the best of our ability, without worrying about being hung out to dry. And I hope he knows that any one of us would do the same for him. It's really great to be part of an office like this.

Ruth and her co-workers are blessed. What a great office!

New p.d. blog, same old dogs

Live from Farmington, New Mexico, it's Of a Public Defender's Life:

I am a public defender because I care about Truth, Justice, the Constitution (and fuzzy puppies).

(and it's an excuse for posting pictures of my fuzzy puppies)

Vox clamantis in deserto

A helpful reminder from LiveJournal - if you're a city slicker at heart, first you might want to check out that rural public defender office you've applied to in person:

I assumed that I could slide right into a rural legal job and switch from downtown cityboy to rural hiking, fishing, hunting guy. I can't. I like the city. I like having six million sushi restaurants to choose from...

Probably just as well that city dude self-selected himself out; there are enough motivated would-be p.d.'s who'll go where the opportunity is over where the sashimi is. I don't know about Clovis, NM, but in the "middle of nowhere" town where I used to recruit young p.d.'s, there is at least one sushi bar.

NM: recognizing the signs

Been there...

Public defender considering leaving desk for more time at defense table

Canon Stevens' passion is the courtroom.

Her frustration, she said, is the rampant bureaucracy that goes on before she even walks through the doors of justice -- wrangling that keeps her juggling far more paperwork than any caseload schedule.

It's why Stevens is considering stepping aside from her administrative duties as the 12th Judicial District public defender. She wants to spend more time defending.

In an office with over 600 clients per lawyer, this could be trading one set of overwhelming frustrations for another. I feel for this colleague and her personal search...

"Three years ago, Stevens left the district attorney's office to return to public defense, hoping the change would give her more time for a life."

... but in a trajectory from line p.d. through capital defense, through switching sides and prosecuting murderers, to switching back and managing a p.d. office, with a pause to briefly consider working in Baghdad, a change in job title alone won't fill the space. Trust me on this one.

NM: an everyday kind of hero

Real-life Role Model: The other side - She's devoted her life to justice, traveling the state to fight for accused killers from the fringes of society

Lelia Hood sits eyeball to eyeball with men and women who give most people nightmares.

They are people like Zacharia Craig, a mentally deficient man accused of running down a State Police officer in 2001; Phillip Busey, a transient who could face the death penalty if convicted of raping and bludgeoning a Nob Hill woman last year; and Karen Smallwood, who is also facing execution if convicted of killing a young Santa Fe mother in 2004.

Hood is their ally and, in most cases, the only hope they have for avoiding lethal injection or a prison sentence that could put them away for the rest of their lives.

It's a role Hood, 46, does not take lightly. Indeed, if she were any more passionate about being a public defender in the state Capital Crimes Unit, she could easily overwhelm a courtroom...