Public defender sanctioned for….doing his job?
Posted on October 4th, 2007 by Administrator
Many people, of all occupations, are driven to do their job well. Public defenders specifically, have the sacred duty of defending the indigent in criminal matters.
An Ohio judge sanctioned a public defender for being unwilling to go to trial when the public defender only had two and a half hours to prepare. The president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, Carmen Hernandez, stated that:
“For the scales of justice to be balanced, both the prosecution and the defense must be prepared,” Hernandez said. “Asking a lawyer to go to trial without preparation is like asking a doctor to perform surgery before diagnosing the patient. Harm is inevitable.”
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right……to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
The moral of the story:
We cannot allow inconvenience and our drive-thru Bic Mac mentality to interfere with our constitutional rights.
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