Charles Pierce: The Bill of Rights Is Hanging by a Thread

[muriel_volestrangler]

The law is supposed to be our protector, not our enemy.

Since I suspect a lot of us will be talking about the inequities of the American criminal justice system (again) on Thursday—those of us who do not teach a section of Law 301: Elements of Vigilantism at respected law schools, anyway—it's a good time to drop by the good folks at The Marshall Project to see what they've been up to these days.
...
Which brings us back to The Marshall Project, and to a woman named Rhonda Covington. Ms. Covington is a lawyer and a public defender. In fact, she is the only public defender in the entire 20th Judicial District of Louisiana. She is, to say the least, overworked.

"There are days," she says, "when I feel that I could literally scream to the top of my lungs for 10 minutes." Every Wednesday, she makes an all-day trip to the infamous Angola prison to meet with clients. Every other night, she visits inmates at the local jail. Every weekend, she works. She also appears in court almost daily, where she handles all types of cases — juvenile and adult, misdemeanor and felony.
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In the 16th Judicial District, for example, a single public defender stands by as groups of up to 50 mostly black, poor defendants are convicted of and sentenced to major felonies — all at once, all together — in a hearing that lasts a few hours or less. And in the 20th, exactly one woman, Covington, is employed full-time to represent poor people accused of crimes. Because her district initially received only $34,086 in assistance from the state last year to run a public defender's office that covers more than 900 cases across two parishes, East Feliciana and West Feliciana, Covington has been forced to cut just about everything but herself. She recently dismissed an attorney (savings: $38,400 a year), reduced her secretary to part-time ($7,194 a year), canceled the office's cell phone plan ($1,829.28), and discontinued housekeeping services ($2,400). She saves another $1,000 a year by having an inmate work crew mow the yard outside her office. Covington, whose clients call her "Ms. Rhonda," wears a medical boot on her right foot because she tore a ligament a few months ago while running to the courthouse. She no longer has any health insurance, let alone worker's' compensation, for the injury.
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Here in the 16th Judicial District, at the St. Martinville courthouse, it is "felony plea day," with Judge Gregory Aucoin presiding. Many of these defendants have not discussed their cases with their public defender yet and will have about 30 seconds to speak with him this morning. Then the judge, with a cigar dangling from his mouth, will ask, "Are you satisfied with the advice your attorney has given you in this matter?" "Yes sir." "Yes sir." "Yes sir," they will all say, down the row. Okay, I accept your plea agreement." And just like that, with no time for arguments to be heard in each of their separate cases, they will have all pleaded guilty together and will be headed to prison for years, sometimes decades.

I think Rhonda Covington and those like her are heroes. I think that without people like her there would be nothing left of the Bill of Rights except the base alloy of which Lincoln wrote. I think that when her clients and their families look at the criminal justice system they see nothing but that same base alloy. I think word gets around and, pretty soon, the law, which is supposed to protect us all, starts to look like a farce and an enemy. And then, I think, things begin to happen outside the courtrooms. And they spiral and feed off themselves until a respected law professor suggests that your fellow citizens kill you with their automobiles.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a48825/public-defenders-louisiana/

Mr. Pierce is less than impressed with a law professor telling people to murder protesters.

[malthaussen]

1. The Marshall Project article is in greater depth about Covington...

... I especially like the part where it points out that the DA's office in her district has a budget $1 mil more than hers.

-- Mal