Btw I meant to say that ststute public defenders often have caseloads of 300, not just 30.
I am stlll steaming about Jenny's slur against the profession. Sure there are crooked, lazy, incompetent lawyers. And doctors. And businesspeople. And factory workers. And academics. And union officials. Despite the lawyer bashing the profession is no more crooked than any and less than some. You can say what you like, but gbut when the cops are on your ass, who do you call -- Ghostbusters? No, you call a lawyer. Or you are a fool.
--- Michael Hoover <hooverm at scc-fl.edu> wrote:
> >>> cbrown at michiganlegal.org 05/19/06 7:42 AM >>>
> Michael Hoover
> no doubt, heavy caseloads borne by public defenders
> create problems for
> low-income criminal defendants, however,
> representation in such cases is
> better than for the poor in civil cases... Mh
> ^^^^^
> CB: When you say the representation of the poor in
> criminal cases is
> better
> than for the poor in civil cases, I resemble that
> remark.:>) Is that
> based
> on research ? What are the caseloads of the civil
> law attorneys for the
> poor
> ? How exactly does an attorney prevent an eviction
> for non-payment of
> rent
> if the client doesn't have any money for rent , or
> their heat back on
> for
> back bills if they don't have any money etc. ? :>)
> By and large , civil
> cases are about money, and people without much money
> are going to lose
> most
> of them.
> <<<<<>>>>>
>
> poor phrasing, perhaps, on my part, comment was not
> intended to slight
> likes of folks such as yourself...
>
> i was alluding (or attempting to do so) to
> disadvantages accruing to
> low-income people in civil procedings...you're, no
> doubt, more familiar
> than i - a non-lawyer - with references to civil
> courts as courts of the
> *haves*...
>
> research i've seen indicates that poor find it
> harder to receive counsel
> in civil than in criminal cases because of money
> matter that you
> mention, result is they do not have the same level
> of access to counsel
> in civil cases as they do in criminal ones...
>
> moreover, they may not understand that they have a
> cause of action
> against a powerful party, hence, they may not pursue
> a valid claim (in
> contrast, more affluent are more likely to seek
> legal recourse) *and*
> they are more likely to sense that pursuit of a
> civil claim will be
> unsuccessful when they do perceive that they have a
> legitimate claim...
>
> on the other hand, despite well-known problems
> associated with public
> defenders, studies indicate that when they go to
> trial they are about as
> likely to win a case and are as disposed to make
> motions and raise
> challenges to prospective jurors as are their
> generally more experienced
> counterparts in the d.a.'s office... mh
>
>
>
> Please Note:
> Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most
> written
> communications to or from College employees
> regarding College business
> are public records, available to the public and
> media upon request.
> Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject
> to public
> disclosure.
> ___________________________________
>
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com