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Such things are to protect the illusion of justice, while feeding the beast in so doing. But the reality is, there is no such thing as "assistance of council" in our Judicial System, let alone effective. In order to provide assistance of council in a courtroom in the United States, one has to either serve as council Pro Se, or retain an attorney licensed to practice law in that jurisdiction. That even holds true for lower JP courts.
The problem with this is, licensed attorneys serving as defense council are just as much "officers of the court" as are prosecutors, and subject to the sanctions and will of the court. This fact should even be more obvious in the case of public defenders, who really have a very poor record historically when compared to the prosecution. This obvious conflict precludes effective assistance of council, right out of the gate, because as the old axiom suggests, no man can serve two masters.
Once upon a time, not that long ago, you could have any knowledgeable, well spoken person familiar with fundamental legal procedure, represent you in court. That day no longer exists, and neither does effective assistance of council, if such a thing should require undivided loyalty to the client, as it most certainly would, and no obligations whatsoever to the court.
Of course, the 98% conviction rate in Federal Courts suggest one of two things .... either law enforcement and prosecuting attorneys are virtually flawless in their pursuit of the guilty and delivering true blind justice ... or that 2% reflects the rare few who can afford an OJ team, while the rest of us are just up the creek without a paddle the moment an indictment is issued. Care to take a gander at which one is the most likely scenario?
There is so much wrong in this post it's actually amusing.
I think you may be someone with a "very little bit" of knowledge about a lot of things, and a very vivid imagination, but in this case your knowledge about courts, attorneys and how they work is so infinitesimal it doesn't deserve serious consideration.
You seem to think that Judges are ALL-POWERFUL people/positions who tell attorneys how to run their cases and make all the decisions, and that those Judges are told what to do by whom, a mysterious "government" official? Lots of people who work in the courtroom are called "officers of the court" other than attorneys. It's just a title. The fact that you don't know these things demonstrates your enormous lack of knowledge about .this subject. Attorneys have NO PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS to Judges over their cases.
You know, you'd be a bit more convincing if you realized that when you're talking about an attorney, the spelling is COUNSEL, not COUNCIL. That's just soooooo basic.
The price tag for the Ridgway Defense Team was discussed by one of Gary's attorney's, Mark Prothero, in his excellent book Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer.
At one point the King County's prosecutor's office was referring to it as a "Porsche defense", but even they have to admit that it was well worth the expense.
Without the defense team that worked on Ridgway's behalf, the families of the GRK victims would never have had the answers that they do today.
I think that it was money well spent - as is any money used to ensure that a criminal defendant is fairly, competently, and adequately represented.
Since the cat is out of the bag...psst...I happen to know that the kid lying in the hospital is a body double. The real 19 year old bomber was exterminated. The government chose a kid that was in a bad car accident and in need of major reconstructive surgery which would enable the govermnent's plastic surgeons to reconstruct his face to look exactly like the real 19 year old. They were able to coerce this body double into their incidious scheme due to the fact that he was DUI and now he can avoid prosecution. Add that to the fact that he was uninsured and could not possibly afford his reconstructive surgery and the law suit which was forthcoming. He will take his own life during the trial period of this hoax, but actually he will be relocated as in a witness protection program...unless of course they just kill him and make it look like a suicide.
That's no sillier than amputee actors! Coulda happened.
I hasten to add that being an "Officer of the Court" imparts an ethical duty observe and enforce the rules and procedures of the justice system as well as the Constitution above all else.
There is so much wrong in this post it's actually amusing.
I think you may be someone with a "very little bit" of knowledge about a lot of things, and a very vivid imagination, but in this case your knowledge about courts, attorneys and how they work is so infinitesimal it doesn't deserve serious consideration.
You seem to think that Judges are ALL-POWERFUL people/positions who tell attorneys how to run their cases and make all the decisions, and that those Judges are told what to do by whom, a mysterious "government" official? Lots of people who work in the courtroom are called "officers of the court" other than attorneys. It's just a title. The fact that you don't know these things demonstrates your enormous lack of knowledge about .this subject. Attorneys have NO PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS to Judges over their cases.
You know, you'd be a bit more convincing if you realized that when you're talking about an attorney, the spelling is COUNSEL, not COUNCIL. That's just soooooo basic.
So, knowitall, what is your experience in court and criminal law? Have you ever tried to get a judge removed? Have you argued about evidence that the judge insists on excluding as not relevant to the preceeding. The judge rules his or her courtroom, they are king unless you can get them removed and hopefully do better down the hall.
And if you don't think your public defender is doing a good job, best a luck getting him tossed.
one that warrants providing the best advocacy that there can be, otherwise our justice system will be similar to that in some banana republic.
Prosecuting a capital crime costs money - don't play the "more needy" game when we are discussing such a sobering matter.
It doesn't wash.
We still need to be fiscally sound. Our PUBLIC judicial system shouldn't have a blank check.
I'd say there needs to be a statutory cap on capital crime cases. Even under
1M would be an improvement.
If we keep spending like this, we will be a banana republic
So, knowitall, what is your experience in court and criminal law? Have you ever tried to get a judge removed? Have you argued about evidence that the judge insists on excluding as not relevant to the preceeding. The judge rules his or her courtroom, they are king unless you can get them removed and hopefully do better down the hall.
And if you don't think your public defender is doing a good job, best a luck getting him tossed.
Who is this poster, "knowitall"? Surely you are aware the TOS prohibits name-calling?
So, knowitall, what is your experience in court and criminal law? Have you ever tried to get a judge removed? Have you argued about evidence that the judge insists on excluding as not relevant to the preceeding. The judge rules his or her courtroom, they are king unless you can get them removed and hopefully do better down the hall.
And if you don't think your public defender is doing a good job, best a luck getting him tossed.
Is it really necessary to call names like "knowitall"? Court rulings are subject to appeal. Certainly you know that the trial court is not the end of ALL. The "king" is also subject to case law.
Is it really necessary to call names like "knowitall"? Court rulings are subject to appeal. Certainly you know that the trial court is not the end of ALL. The "king" is also subject to case law.
Was that a dodge? You never answered the question.
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Lots of people who work in the courtroom are called "officers of the court" other than attorneys. It's just a title. The fact that you don't know these things demonstrates your enormous lack of knowledge about .this subject. Attorneys have NO PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS to Judges over their cases. 
That's just soooooo basic.
