Can a public defender adequately serve and protect the needs of their clients?
“Public Defenders are also counsel for the defense. Some are very competent, especially the old timers who have a lot of trial experience. Some of our best judges and criminal attorneys used to be public defenders. But they have a heavy calendar and represent about 90% of the criminal defendants in Los Angeles County—the majority of those are in custody because they can’t afford to post bail. Public defenders are overburdened and sometimes do not have the time for all the handholding necessary in private practice not only of the defendant, but also of his/her family.” What improvements do you think the justice system could benefit from? “That peace officers are required to have minimum two years of college; and later a full college degree should be required. Likewise we need to raise their pay scales accordingly and then make law enforcement a real profession rather than just a job. We also need to weed out recruits with psychological and personal problems. In California a brain surgeo
