Monday Musings: Frolics And Detours

Last year, on October 27, the world was greeted with a simple announcement: “I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The word came from blogger Frolics and Detours, and with that announcement, and the beginning of a career in public defense, a new public defender blogger was born.

The blog has actually been active since F&D’s law school days, and is a mix of current events (both personal and worldly) as well as recent posts about her (relatively) new job.

Please join me in welcoming Frolics and Detours to Monday Musings.

INTRODUCTION

An introduction. Let’s see. I’m your typical 20-something single girl. I love hanging out with my friends, catching up on sleep, checking out guys, laying around the house, and reading. Although I never expected it, my job defines me. Luckily, I love my job, so I don’t mind the definition!

Although you’ve been blogging since late 2004, you are a relatively new public defender blogger. How has the transition to full-time public defender affected your blogging?

Obviously, I post about my job more and not law school. Becoming a PD has definitely given me a bit more focus for my blog. While I still post frivolous and meaningless things, the job always gives me an interesting story I can post. (Lots of times I choose not to b/c I’m afraid of being identified.) That’s one of the perks of the job — more interesting stories than anybody else has.

When did you know you wanted to be a public defender, and was there a specific event or person behind the inspiration?

The funny thing is that I never wanted to be a public defender. Since I was about 8 years old, I wanted to be a prosecutor because I wanted to “help people”. The summer after my first year of law school I worked at a friend’s father’s workers comp/personal injury firm. It was interesting, but not what I wanted to do. The next year I actually tried on campus interviewing for the next summer. The local PD’s office was doing OCI and they didn’t require a specific grade percentile, so I sent in my resume and got an interview. As I prepped for my interview, I thought about how PD’s help people too, just in a different way that I had never realized or even considered. My interview kicked arse and I knew I would get an offer. After waiting six weeks for the offer letter to come in the mail, it finally arrived and I was stoked.

Once I started in the office, I knew it was where I wanted to be. Everyone in my office was so nice and helpful. They all cared about their clients and their rights. Everybody was in the courtroom all the time. There was always something interesting to talk about. By the end of that summer, I knew that this office was where I wanted to be. Of course, there was one major problem — the budget. My boss told me he wanted to give me an offer for after graduation, but there wasn’t money at the time. I did a bunch of interviewing the next school year, mostly for judges, other PD offices, and some prosecutors as well. Finally, right after graduation, my job offer came in the mail. The rest, as they say, is history…

Your blog is the only one I’ve seen with a “case load” number in the “About Me” section of the sidebar. What gave you the idea to include that, and what does it mean to you?

My case load is something that I check at work every day. Our office used to have a policy that for one month certain people would get all the cases and then we wouldn’t get any more cases for three months. It was a rotation system. Checking my case load daily showed my progress. Alas, this system has gone down the tubes because we had a mass exodus from my office and we don’t have enough senior attorneys to keep the rotation up. Now my case load stays pretty stagnant. Every day I close a couple of files, the next day a few more have been opened up to me.

Short and sweet: I think the case load number is an interesting little tidbit.

You recently had problems with the judge in your first trial and raised questions about whether you are cut out for the job. How would you describe the process of getting past that, and what advice would you give other new public defenders about dealing with judges and overcoming self-doubt, based on your experience?

I haven’t gotten past it at all. This job has such a steep learning curve that I feel like I will never know enough to feel completely confident in front of a judge — whether it’s in magistrate court, a plea, or a trial. Luckily, the people in my office are wonderful and let me know when I have done well and what I can improve upon. With our jobs, we have to develop a thick skin (which I’m in the process of) and learn how to take constructive criticism.

With a couple of felony jury trials under your belt you are quickly becoming a veteran public defender. How do you feel about the realities of the job, including how they match up to your expectations, now that you are fully immersed?

I’m overworked and underpaid. That was expected and it is reality.

There are good days and there are bad days. When days are bad, they are absolutely horrible. When I call home crying, my dad gives me unsolicited advice that I hate, but he’s right. “There are going to be plenty of crappy days. Suck it up and get over it.” I’d rather get a hug though.

Some judges are great, others notsomuch.

Some prosecutors really care about getting our clients the help they need, others won’t work with me at all. Dealing with the prosecutors has to be the aspect of the job that I didn’t really know what to expect. I just assumed we would always be fighting and arguing and that they would be horrible to work with. I didn’t think that I would end up liking a lot of them and hanging out with them outside of the office.

THE PD STUFF FIVE QUESTIONS

If you weren’t an attorney, what other job would you like to try and why?

If I didn’t have a mental block for science, I would be a marine biologist. I’ve always loved any sea creature. Sharks are my absolute favorite and you can barely pull me away from the television during Shark Week. The ocean is such a vast expanse and the amazing variety of organisms that live there is ridiculous. It’s hard to get my head around it, but I love it.

Best moment on the job?

My not guilty verdict was pretty sweet. Getting silly charges dismissed is also nice and a relief for the client. Being able to get people the help they need is probably the best part of the job. Honestly, I guess I don’t really have a best moment yet. I have had some good moments and some exciting moments, but I don’t know which one I would classify as the best yet. If I had been at work when bar results came out, that would have been it easily.

Worst moment on the job?

That’s easy. Being berated by the judge during my first trial. Being talked down to is one thing, but getting absolutely obliterated by the judge in front of my client on the record is horrible. I just had to take it and say “Yes, your honor.” I wasn’t able to stick up for myself or my client.

If Heaven exists, what do you think God will say to you when you arrive?

Welcome. You had some fun down there, didn’t you?

If you could only pick one, who is your hero/heroine?

This is not a fair question. Because I can only pick one, I can’t choose my mom and dad. They have risen up from pretty humble means to become extremely successful and very respected in the community. They are the sweetest and most caring people in the world. They are the reason I am who I am. Plus, they did manage to have a great kid — ME!

If I have to choose only one, right now I think my hero would be my boss. He has been doing this job for 25 years and has not lost one bit of passion for it. When talking about defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he tears up a little. Not to mention, he is absolutely brilliant. He immediately knows the answer to any question you have, and if he doesn’t, he does the research and comes up with the answer within ten minutes. Now, he may not be the most touchy-feely guy or wear his emotions on his sleeve, but if someone gives any of us PDs any trouble, he stands up for us in a heartbeat. My boss is the type of person that I aspire to become.

Thanks, F & D, for a fun interview.

Next week’s guest on Monday Musings is the author of Public Defenders & Parity. If there are any questions you’d like me to consider for TexPD4Parity, please email me. Also, feel free to drop me an email to schedule your own Monday Musings interview.

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