20 Hours with the Public Defender

One of the graduation requirements of the Florida State College of Law is to perform 20 hours of pro bono work. The school awards a certificate if you complete even more hours.

In the week prior to the beginning of classes, I worked for 20 hours at the Leon County Public Defender's office. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed it there. My job was to help the office with initial intake interviews, to talk with jail inmates about the pending charges against them and get their side of the story.

As the supervising attorney told me, dealing with the clients is about 75% of what attorneys in that office do. The intake interviews would give me a good feel for the nature of the job. If I did not like the face to face contact, he said, then perhaps work as a prosecutor would be more appropriate.

The technology to conduct the interviews was impressive- at least to me. I did not have to actually visit the jail. Instead, a small camera set on top of the computer monitor at my desk. I called the jail and identified the inmate with whom I needed to speak. The jail sent the inmate to one of several communication pods, labeled A through M. Each pod was equipped with a camera, monitor and telephone, and I could access any of the pods on my computer. When the inmate came into the pod and picked up the phone, I could see and hear him and he could see and hear me.

After about 20 hours of doing these interviews, I realized again how socially liberal I can be at times. I began to think that our criminal justice system needs serious revamping. Many of these inmates were locked up for felony possession of cocaine: A non-violent, victimless crime. The inmates charged with this crime almost universally admitted that they were addicts and needed help.

I fail to see how just locking these people up is more beneficial than putting them in a rehabilitation program. By allowing them to continue to work and be a part of society, they can support their families and have at least some hope when they wake up in the morning that this day will be better than the last.

I do not pretend to know what the solution to a drug addiction is. You almost certainly need a motivator that is stronger than the addiction. But using extreme fear and shame to get them to quit are not the first angles I would take. Putting someone in prison for a drug addiction is a sledge hammer of a remedy. It is an open question in my mind as to whether that remedy solves more problems than it creates. Imagine spending much of your life in a cement and metal cage/hole because you just can't beat the rush in your brain a white powder gives you when you are on the outside. What a sad, miserable existence.

Even if you go your whole life not being able to conquer that rush, why should the government constantly lash you so harshly for it? I can understand the public safety concerns of a person who is "high" and gets behind the wheel of a vehicle or if someone is under the influence and performing work dangerous to others. But most of these charges were not of that nature...

I also found the inmates themselves to be interesting characters, and I enjoyed listening to their stories and studying their mannerisms. While a few were certainly "rotten apples," it did not make them less intriguing. Talking to them was much more engaging to me than doing research on Westlaw or LexisNexis and billing hours.

If the Public Defender's Office could pay me $70,000- $80,000 per year to work there as an attorney, I would jump at the chance. Unfortunately, their salaries are much lower.

We will see where I end up upon graduation, but I know now that the Public Defender's Office is a place reasonably suited to my personality.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn