First month update

On Thursday I will have completed a full month as a public defender. The move out here went smoothly and we're pretty much settled in. It's been busy, with two trips back to the east coast, so not a lot of time to rest.

Life as a PD is busy. I have over 100 cases right now, and should have over 150 by the end of this week, as more are transferred to me. I'm regularly in the office until 6:30 or 7:00, catching up on writing motions and returning client phone calls.

I was supposed to have worked on two trials by now, but one client didn't show up on time to court and another trial got continued because the prosecution didn't have their witness. I have another trial scheduled for next week.

I'll try to update more often, but I'm pretty busy and there's a lot of stuff I can't say, due to client confidentiality concerns.

This I Believe: Everyone Deserves Defense

I found out last Friday that my career as a public defender will be starting later than I'd like. Placement is by attrition and people aren't quitting as often as normal in this troubled economy. I'm disappointed, but still committed to being a public defender, albeit later than I had planned.

Derek pointed me to an NPR "This I Believe" essay by a former public defender. It's worth listening to, especially if you don't understand how I could choose a job where I fight for the accused, not the victim.

Update from Colorado

Sorry for the lack of posting. Since my last post, I have:

• Graduated from law school cum laude.


• Temporarily moved to Denver to study for the Colorado bar exam.


• Set a wedding date and time with my fiancee and booked a venue for same.


• Started growing a bar exam "playoff beard".
  
  


• Quit my day job as a programmer in preparation for my new day job as a public defender (to commence at some indefinite future time).