re: Confessions of a Public Defender

The criticism of my statement was fair. I shouldn't have used such firm language. I obviously can't know whether this individual is indeed the public defender he claims to be. However, based on the reasons I've already given, I think it's more likely than not that he is a racist fraud.

Further, while his superficial observations have grains of truth, his larger themes are horribly off base, in my experience as a criminal defense attorney working in, how did he word it, a city in the Deep South. Not only that, but they ring hollow when held against the conversations I've had with private attorneys and public defenders from other areas in the south and throughout the country.

And in response to a recurring theme on this thread, not all public defenders are liberal. I know many who are card carrying republicans who think Obama is literally the worst thing to ever happen to this country. Also, as for everyone on this thread being "libtards" I think there are at least a few people on this thread that would confirm that I'm about as hardcore libertarian as they come

So, if you would like to have a candid discussion on the subject with someone who actually represents the kind of people that individual claimed, I would be happy to oblige. If you choose instead to give more weight to the ramblings in that article, there isn't anything I can say to change your mind.

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So, if you would like to have a candid discussion on the subject with someone who actually represents the kind of people that individual claimed, I would be happy to oblige. If you choose instead to give more weight to the ramblings in that article, there isn't anything I can say to change your mind.

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I think you should start a thread for exactly that. Just don't make the same mistake that idiot Arkansas judge made!!!!

Seriously, such a thread could be interesting

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I have a question, counselor. Do lawyers actually specialize in the field as 'public defenders' or are trial lawyers forced by the court to take a certain number of cases of indigent clients?

If the latter is true then I could see a certain animosity between lawyer and non paying client.

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Depends on the jurisdiction. From what I have gathered, you have four basic paradigms:

1. The private criminal defense bar is assigned indigent clients at random. This is extremely uncommon, though it is sometimes used in emergencies such as when there is a large indictment of multiple defendants which creates a conflict with the local public defender's office.

2. Attorneys voluntarily sign up to be on a rotating list the courts use to assign counsel when someone can't afford to hire an attorney.

3. There will be a "District Defender" hired to create an office locally and will hire attorneys on a contract basis to represent indigent clients. You will typically only see this in very small jurisdictions.

4. There will be a District Defender hired to create an office locally and hire attorneys and support staff to handle all indigent defense work. This is most common in larger jurisdictions, and it's the system used in East Baton Rouge.

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I think you should start a thread for exactly that. Just don't make the same mistake that idiot Arkansas judge made!!!!

Seriously, such a thread could be interesting

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I'm already a bit wary of engaging in this discussion buried ten pages deep in a thread. I'm sure as hell not drawing that much attention to myself

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I'm already a bit wary of engaging in this discussion buried ten pages deep in a thread. I'm sure as hell not drawing that much attention to myself

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Understood

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A liberal public defender went to a toned down Stormfront to post that article....not townhall or csn or any numerous other arch-conservative sites. No he went to a white supremacist site. Totally believable.

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Okay, I'll play along with your little "hypothetical" game.

Do you really believe that a white supremacist would say this?

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I believe that those of us who are able to produce abundance have a moral duty to provide basic food, shelter, and medical care for those who cannot care for themselves. I believe we have this duty even to those who can care for themselves but don’t. This world view requires compassion and a willingness to act on it.

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If being a hate group requires that an organization's central tenets include racial violence, then perhaps they aren't a "hate group". But let's not confuse White Nationalism for anything other than the retread neo-Nazi tripe that it is.

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I would consider a "hate group" a group centered around intense, malicious hatred of another race/ethnicity. I don't think it unreasonable to recognize that different organizations may share similar concepts (that race is biologically meaningful or significant) and yet also possess very different ideological tenets or extrapolations from such a premise.

I don't find anything inherently hateful about believing race to be biologically meaningful though I can certainly recognize how such a belief could be perverted by some to promote hatred or cruelty onto others. I also don't agree with the notion that ethnic nationalism is inextricably tied to being "hateful" or spiteful of other ethnicities.

Obviously racial/ethnic differences are and have been tied to cultural differences and conflicts within societies for as long as history has been recorded. I certainly wouldn't agree with the characterization that ethnic divides must necessarily be fueled by hatred or "racism," though this characterization appears to be the prevailing narrative, particularly when applied to whites, and challenging it tends to result in accusations intended to smear one's character. I've listened to Jared Taylor before and never once had the impression that he is motivated by hatred. Groups like the Klan on the other hand appear quite motivated by a base hatred and brutality. By encompassing all these varying factions under the same umbrella of terminology I think a great disservice to truth is being done, which of course is of little concern to certain groups with political agendas.

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I believe that those of us who are able to produce abundance have a moral duty to provide basic food, shelter, and medical care for those who cannot care for themselves. I believe we have this duty even to those who can care for themselves but don’t. This world view requires compassion and a willingness to act on it.

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White mans' burden, yeah, possible. You can find writings from pre-civil war south espousing caring for the lowly negro as a duty.

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Proving this website is white supremacist literally involves clicking random articles.

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Yet the usual suspects will still defend them. PB gonna PB.