Public Defender Heroes: Update

A PD Hero (see, For MLK Day, Public Defender Heroes), submitted by an anonymous reader:

On any given Friday afternoon in the public defenders' office, Jorgé (not his real name) will hold "court" for newbies and veterans alike.  In Jorgé's office, one can seek advice on how to deal with that unreasonable prosecutor, difficult client, or troubling ruling from the judge ... he is a true war-time consiliari, with advice that is consistently right-on.  I have always wanted to make a sign that says "Advice: $Free" for his door.  Jorgé is a ninja pd--he achieves great results, but with a modesty that declines the ego recognition many of us need--the same modesty that will make him super mad that he is included in this post.  (But we don't care--we are rebels!)  I would have quit thirteen years ago (before I graduated from law school) without his guidance and example. Jorgé is a true believer and an inspiration to all of us.  If what we do in life really echos in eternity, Jorgé's compassion and mad skills will live on.

Jorgé, you are our hero.

Blogkeeping Notes No. 3

As much as I feel (a probably undeserved) solidarity with graffiti artists, and as much as I like graffiti, PDR's graffiti-header didn't feel right to me.  Maybe because I felt like a poseur, having never actually sprayed paint from a can on a brick wall.  But I think my hesitation came from the fact that although I adore graffiti's fuck-you charm, it doesn't necessarily elicit public-defender-ness.  I needed something--not necessarily a straight representation of the public defender--but something more evocative of our work.

Hmmm ... court house? six-pack of beer? a jail cell?  Nothing felt right.  And then I looked down at my brain-storming list.  What do we all use?  Ratty, yellow pads.  In tight budget times, our managers have been known to search our offices and round up all of the pads with remaining pages, which causes people to hoard them, which means there are none left when I open the door to the supply cabinet on my way out the door to trial.

Even with computers, I still use yellow pads all the time (when I can find one).  And I'm really not sure why they're yellow--I heard that yellow causes less eye strain--or if I believe this, but if given a choice between yellow and white, I'll choose yellow.  It's like white was for high school and college, and yellow is for court.  I doodle and scribble all over them, which is the only thing that keeps me from running screaming from the courtroom some days.

So, goodbye, Graffiti Theme, hello, Ratty Yellow Pad.  In an homage to the short-lived graffiti header, some eye candy from a New York company that is putting its own spin on graffiti:

A set of china I would buy for most of my public defender friends--you know, the ones who consider their decorative water bottle an ample nod to tableware.  New York Delft by lovegroverepucci combines the "classic tradition of Dutch Delft craftsmanship" and the street art and imagery of New York City in a porcelain dinnerware collection.

I haven't had much use for fine porecelain, until now.  Public defender friends, here is your wedding gift from me from now on:

Each place setting is made of fine porcelain and has five pieces; a dinner plate, side plate, soup bowl, cup and saucer.  I am sorry if it is redundant to post these additional images, but I do love the police-car plate, garbage-truck soup bowl, and hot-dog-stand cup so much--

My favorite piece of all, though, is the street-light napkin:

 You can also watch lovegrove's promotional YouTube video:





The innovation shown in the combination of modern street art and centuries-old china parallels the work that we do as lawyers:  we find inspiration in the artistry of our colleagues and heores, and then transform their work into something relevant to our client.   If we're lucky, we stumble on new methods to make our clients' stories resonate with an audience that understands as little about them as my grandmother does about graffiti, or as little as a street kid connects with centuries-old Dutch craftsmanship. As public defenders, we derive our skills from our heroes and role models--and not only is our well of inspiration deeper than our opponents, but our creative power is enhanced because we understand that there is beauty in the street.

For MLK Day: Public Defender Heroes

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism,

or the darkness of destructive selfishness.

This is the judgment.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is,

What are you doing for others?”

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

About a year ago, a lawyer posted a question on a criminal-law list-serve that I belong to, seeking names of "public defender heroes." While I don't remember who posted the question, or many of the names submitted (except that I learned that Joe Biden had been a pd for a brief time), I do remember being struck by the lack of generally accepted or even proposed PD heroes. How is it that many public defenders are the bravest, smartest, and most altruistic people I know, and yet their legacy of inspiration for those of us in the trenches goes unheralded.