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fandomhigh2013-10-11 08:25 am
amthenight.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2013-10-11 08:25 am
Entry tags:
Criminal Justice, Friday, Period 1
"A few weeks ago, we talked about lawyers," Batman said. "We're following up on that this week. I may have given you the impression that criminal lawyers are slimy, amoral,greedy sociopaths. And if I hadn't given that impression, then let me clear it up for you. Many are. But today, I'd like to introduce you to a better kind of criminal lawyer; the public defender."
"When you're arrested, one of the rights an officer has to explain is the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you. Public defenders are those guys. They're paid by the government to do their very best to defend you from the government prosecutors. It's a little strange, but it works in principal."
"How it works practically is another matter. Government budgets tend not to supply that much funding, so the pay is low. Since the pay is low, lawyers aren't exactly lining up for the job, especially high quality, experienced lawyers. And this means a higher case load on the people who do have the job," Batman explained. "When given proper funding and a reasonable case load, it's been shown that trial outcomes in cases involving public defenders are in line with the statistics from cases involving private attorneys. WIthout the funding and too high a workload, the conviction rate rises, as you would expect."
"Today you're going to try to get a small idea of how being a public defender works. You'll have several points to argue with no notice. It will be your job to take at least one of these cases and make your best argument for a point. You may not agree with the point being made, but it's your job to argue it to the best of your ability."
"When you're arrested, one of the rights an officer has to explain is the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you. Public defenders are those guys. They're paid by the government to do their very best to defend you from the government prosecutors. It's a little strange, but it works in principal."
"How it works practically is another matter. Government budgets tend not to supply that much funding, so the pay is low. Since the pay is low, lawyers aren't exactly lining up for the job, especially high quality, experienced lawyers. And this means a higher case load on the people who do have the job," Batman explained. "When given proper funding and a reasonable case load, it's been shown that trial outcomes in cases involving public defenders are in line with the statistics from cases involving private attorneys. WIthout the funding and too high a workload, the conviction rate rises, as you would expect."
"Today you're going to try to get a small idea of how being a public defender works. You'll have several points to argue with no notice. It will be your job to take at least one of these cases and make your best argument for a point. You may not agree with the point being made, but it's your job to argue it to the best of your ability."
Argument #2
The current class load at Fandom is appropriate, with students being able to limit themselves to a couple hours of class a week.
OR
The current class load at Fandom should follow a more traditional model. More "normal" classes meeting more frequently during the week.