SF District Attorney Office under Brooke Jenkins issues 20+ challenges in a single day to prevent Judge Michelle Tong, a former public defender, from being able to hear a single case. #Judge #BrookeJenkins #publicdefender https://missionlocal.org/2025/03/sf-prosecutors-challenge-judge-en-masse/
I’ve got a feeling the idiotic bad effects that “Law & Order” has had on Public Defense in the USA will pale in comparison to those of the recent police bodycam YouTube “True Crime” content grifter fads. That shit is incredibly grim & deleterious.
One thing that's odd about being an attorney is how different the different jobs you can have are and how few of us can really imagine ourselves doing the other stuff.
Like, I do criminal defense. I cannot imagine not being bored out of my mind if I had to do transactions or estates or something with a slower pace.
(Honestly, there are times I feel bored compared to the summer my office was understaffed and I had twice the case load I now carry)
https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/05/oregon-public-defenders-crisis/
“Our district attorney’s office could take actions that would help with the public defense crisis,” Reding said. “In Multnomah County, our attorneys prepare a lot of cases for trial that turn into dismissals on the eve of trial. If our district attorney’s office could identify those cases that are dismissals much earlier in the process and dismiss them, that would save many hours of defense attorney time that we could then turn around and focus on taking new cases.”
Or y’know, just stop charging so much shit. Oregon’s well-fed prosecuting attorneys are operating in bad faith, and often on extremely flimsy charges.
In Multnomah County, the district attorney has unfairly demonized public defenders, blaming us for systemic failures beyond our control. The reality is that we stand as a check against government overreach, ensuring that justice is not necessarily swift, but fair.
A rigorous study by the American Bar Association which found that Oregon has 31% percent of the Public Defenders it needs has been overruled by a DA Clique's vibes-based assessment.
Come to our lunchtime event to discover how San Franciscans benefit from the Public Defender's Office and how we can hold the office accountable.
Elected Public Defender Mano Raju will talk with @sfchronicle columnist Nuala Bishari. It's free and online. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckf-ivqjwrHNUxLJhFYFqxcH8ySs07I2XS#/registration
@uspolitics I have two words for them — Public Defender #publicdefender
Hello! I am new here. I am wife and mom to 3 kids, 1 dog, 7 lizards, and 1 amphibian. I am a #publicdefender in Florida (transplanted from Wyoming). I love to read and craft. Right now my main crafts are #knitting, #crochet, #Tunisiancrochet, and #crossstitch. I am getting into gardening and starting a Florida native plant garden. I look forward to this new (to me) platform!
#Black, #proud and ready to make a difference, #AlleghenyCounty's new #chief #publicdefender gets to work
Last month, #AlleghenyCounty #Executive #SaraInnamorato #appointed her to become the chief #publicdefender — the first #Black #woman to ever hold the #office.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Pennsylvania #Pittsburgh #RoleModels #Representation #Culture #BlackMastodon
«A #NewYork #PublicDefender has apologised after tearing down posters of #Israelis taken #hostage by #Hamas.
#VictoriaRuiz, a NY public defender, was filmed ripping down posters w/ headline ‘Kidnapped’. In video, shared by the group #StopAntisemitism on Sunday, Ruiz is seen taking posters off a pole.
An individual filming Ruiz then repeatedly asks the lawyer: “Why are you taking down pictures of missing children?”. Ruiz appears to ignore the questioning & walks away.»
All this nonsensical talk about our "Two-tiered Justice System" by GOP succubi.But they're right. Kinda.
Equal justice would give Trump a single public defender.
Instead of his mercenary army of overpaid attorneys.
"After Cyrus Gray was arrested and could not afford to pay #bail, he received an ominous message from staff at the Hays County Jail in #Texas.
'Get comfortable,' (they) said. 'You are going to be here a while'...
Gray spent four and a half years behind bars waiting for trial...He could not afford an attorney, and Hays County had no #PublicDefender office...
As of June 25, the median length of stay for people held pretrial in Hays County was 92 days."
(HT @pdxlawgrrrl)
https://www.vera.org/news/four-years-in-jail-without-trial-a-new-public-defender-office-comes-to-hays-county-texas
«During a term largely defined by cases involving #race, #KetanjiBrownJackson — the 1st #Black woman 2 serve as a justice — repeatedly voiced a full-throated defense o race-conscious measures 2 remedy #discrimination. As a former #PublicDefender, she proved closely attuned 2 the arguments o criminal defendants, perhaps more so than any other #justice. & she took on a prominent role during the court’s oral arguments, speaking far more than any of her colleagues.»
#SCOTUS
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/06/ketanji-brown-jackson-first-term-00105015
Want to see more #ProgressiveProsecutors in key jurisdictions?
Consider donating to Matthew Ahn, a #LawProf, former #PublicDefender, and tireless advocate for #CriminalJusticeReform who has an exploratory committee for a run in #CuyahogaCounty, Ohio.
The end of his first campaign finance reporting period is tomorrow. A strong showing on that report will mean he has the resources needed for a serious campaign, and it will send a strong signal about the need for change.
https://matthew-ahn.com/
Watch "#publicdefender reveals an extraordinary message hidden in the NYPD pride month vehicles. #acab" on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyq63E09KN0&feature=youtu.be
Missouri Judge Says State’s Public Defender Waiting List Is Unconstitutional
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/15/missouri-judge-says-states-public-defender-waiting-list-is-unconstitutional/
#delegationofrepresentation #righttorepresentation #accesstojustice #michaelbarrett #publicdefender #missouri #funding #1
Hey #PublicDefender folks and aspiring PDs: Cook County Public Defender is hiring assistant public defenders, supervising attorneys, and a couple of non-attorney roles:
I've been on Mastodon for a few months, and enjoying it. I've discovered people who are seeking justice, recognizing beauty, producing beauty, flagging important events, encouraging growth, and I love the community algorithm. The missing piece is professional. I'm not finding good sources of #CriminalLaw content, interesting developments in #CrimLaw that a #PublicDefender should know about or would find particularly interesting. I'm looking for those people
what a great piece by slate. thank you, this is straight facts. #publicdefender #mentalhealth #appellatemastodon
https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/public-defender-mental-health-trauma.html
