I recently came across an article examining the growing shortage of indigent defense attorneys in Texas and across the country. The statistics were concerning. Texas lost more than 1,300 attorneys handling indigent defense matters over roughly a decade, even as the overall number of licensed attorneys in the state continued to grow. Meanwhile, public defender… Continue reading Who Will Answer the Call?
Tag: indigent defense
The Only Home He Knows
He was 20 years old when I was appointed to represent him. His criminal case involved a reckless-driving charge after he was caught doing donuts at a car meetup. It wasn't an especially complicated case. At least, not initially. Somewhere along the way, a traffic stop led to questions about his immigration status. He was… Continue reading The Only Home He Knows
The Anger Behind the Relief: On Profiling, a 0.014 BAC, and a Case That Never Should Have Been Filed
I've carried a lot of cases this year, but the one that made me question how it survived long enough to have a trial date was a 0.014 DWI where my client was rear-ended and somehow ended up the one in handcuffs. I've had this case since January. It is now October. Nine months of… Continue reading The Anger Behind the Relief: On Profiling, a 0.014 BAC, and a Case That Never Should Have Been Filed
September 30
Today is my birthday. And today, Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike. There is something unsettling about those two things sharing the same date. One is a day that marks the continuation of a life. The other is a day the State has designated to end one. Before I reflect on another year of… Continue reading September 30
So I Go: The Unglamorous Work of Showing Up
After court and lunch, I walked the few blocks to the jail. It’s close enough that the transition feels abrupt — one minute I’m checking status of discovery, and the next I’m handing over my ID, my bar card, and a little card with my client’s name and location. They give me back the client… Continue reading So I Go: The Unglamorous Work of Showing Up
When Innocence Competes with Survival
She told me from day one she didn’t do it. Not in a dramatic way. Not in a “let me convince you” way. Just a quiet, steady truth she carried every time we talked. And then the seizures started coming harder. More frequent. More violent. More unpredictable. By the time we reached the point where… Continue reading When Innocence Competes with Survival
Nothing About My Work Looks Like That
Law & Order SVU has been my show for years, but let’s be honest — nothing about my actual work looks like that. There’s no dramatic music. No last‑minute confessions. No detectives sprinting down hallways. And absolutely no scene where a defense attorney gets an investigator without filing a motion, drafting a proposed order, and… Continue reading Nothing About My Work Looks Like That
Nobody’s Hands Are Clean: On Advocacy, Accountability, and a Trial I Wish Wasn’t Happening
There are some weeks when being a criminal defense lawyer feels straightforward. This is not one of them. I'm preparing for a trial that I wish wasn't happening—not because I don't believe in trying cases, but because this one sits in the uncomfortable space where multiple truths exist at the same time. My client made… Continue reading Nobody’s Hands Are Clean: On Advocacy, Accountability, and a Trial I Wish Wasn’t Happening
In the Interest of Justice — On a Case That Never Should Have Been Filed and a Mother Who Deserved Better
The last few weeks have been a season of grief and illness — and if I'm honest, the illness isn't fully behind me yet. But you've walked some of this with me, and I have something from the courtroom worth sharing. Some cases stay with you not because they were dramatic, but because they reveal… Continue reading In the Interest of Justice — On a Case That Never Should Have Been Filed and a Mother Who Deserved Better
Carrying Both—When the Work Doesn’t Stop and Neither Does the Hurt
What I’m learning is this: sometimes life asks us to carry more than one kind of weight at the same time. Grief in one hand. Illness in the other. And somehow, the work still expects you to show up—to advocate, to prepare, to stand in court with a steady voice even when your body and… Continue reading Carrying Both—When the Work Doesn’t Stop and Neither Does the Hurt
