PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC

   Watching the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court I wasn't surprised when abortion, crime, terrorism, Guantanamo Bay, child pornography and race came up. The predictably vociferous and pointed questioning of Republican wing nuts like Cruz, Graham and Hawley held no surprises. Cruz focused in on the "horrors" of critical race theory in private school, holding up and waving books like "Racist Baby," while Graham and Hawley brought up Judge Jackson's lenient sentencing practices in child porn cases. Both Republicans seemed way too familiar with the kiddie porn underground. I'd suggest a little more questioning of these two before they can wipe their hard drives clean. What did surprise me was the demonization of the nominee's years as a public defender. I thought that the right to counsel was supposed be a jewel in the crown of the democratic legal system. Hasn't any of these idiots ever had their Miranda rights read to them? I for one have.

    My experience in the American legal system is not extensive, but I have spent a night or two in jail and more than a few evenings in court. The minor offense for which I went to court in 1993 was the possession of a dime bag of pot and six hits of ancient L.S.D. I knew I had the pot on me, but when the Statey pulled out the match box containing the acid I was as surprised as he was. Drugs can sometimes make you forget what's in your pocket.

     Pulled over on the Palisades and taken for booking in Rockland County, the cops were pleasant and had a good sense of humor. They all got a kick out of my age (40+) and tattoos. When I left, after being finger printed and getting my mug shot taken, I asked the arresting officer "Should I worry?" He gave it some thought and told me if the bust had been on the Lower East Side (where I lived) it would be no big deal. "But the judge in this county," he offered "likes to fight the drug war from the bottom up. I'd take it seriously if I were you." Good advice. I called up the public defender's office and was assigned a lawyer at the government's expense.

    It just so happened that I drew from the shallow end of the pool. My PD was a caricature of a "real" lawyer. I assume he had a degree but he showed no evidence of such. He was rumpled, overweight, slovenly and unwilling to do the minimum in defending his client.....me! He also had a secretary that was just as unhelpful and mean as a snake. When I would call his office and ask about my case the woman would never put my call through. When pressed she literally screamed "FUCK YOU!" and hung up. I told my "lawyer" I was willing to plead guilty to the pot charge if they dropped the acid charge. He advised me that I could plead guilty to both. That's the best he could do. "That's not a fucking plea deal!" I calmly informed him "Haven't you ever seen Law and Order?"

    In the end I told the judge that my PD was worthless and I wanted a new lawyer. When hearing the accusation of insufficient counsel the rumpled waste of space turned to the courtroom (two black teenagers and their mothers) and defended his "practice" like he was arguing before the Supreme Court. Why couldn't he be so eloquent in my defense? The judge granted my request, assigning me another PD from the pool. My new public defender cozied up to the DA immediately. They both laughed like I was a big joke and they couldn't wait to get on the links. The PD asked if I was willing to plead guilty to disorderly conduct? No possession? "Fifty hours of community service." he said looking at his watch. Fuck yeah. Guilty your honor! The gavel came down. Even with a horrible lawyer the system worked....for me. For those of you who think critical race theory has no basis in reality, those two black teenagers (arrested on minor vandalism charges for tagging) both got a month in county jail. How's that for color blind justce  with no systemic racism? "Racist Baby" is a little too woke for me, but I get the premise. Ted Cruz who will mention he went to "Harvard" at the drop of a hat would do well to educate himself a little better for the protection of the public.