Missouri’s Lead Public Defender Assigns Governor to Case in Protest of Budget Cuts – Hit & Run : Reason.com
Missouri’s lead public defender ordered Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to represent a poor client in court, saying Nixon was responsible for ruinous budget cuts that have left the state’s public defender system incapable of performing its duties.
Citing a state law that gives his office the power to “delegate the legal representation of any person to any member of the state bar of Missouri,” Missouri State Public Defender System Director Michael Barrett assigned Nixon, a barred attorney, to defend a poor person in court in a letter released Wednesday.
“As of yet, I have not utilized this provision because it is my sincere belief that it is wrong to reassign an obligation placed on the state by the 6th and 14th Amendments to private attorneys who have in no way contributed to the current crisis,” Barrett wrote. “However, given the extraordinary circumstances that compel me to entertain any and all avenues for relief, it strikes me that I should begin with the one attorney in the state who not only created this problem, but is in a unique position to address it.”
I love this, although I do think he should hit other attorney’s as well, since the legal profession has considerable influence in politics.Report
Can judges be drafted like this? Also, could this law run afoul of the 13th Amendment?Report
In the same way that mandatory jury duty can.Report
According to the Governor, the public defender can’t draft an attorney like this, only a judge can. I suspect he’s right. The Missouri statute permits the judge to make an involuntary appointment only after performing the following steps:
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Let me guess, he’s running for office soon?Report
Why would you think that? Personally, I’d think that being in charge of a department that’s being deliberately run down would make this sort of public shaming almost irresistable.
It’s lagniappe that by doing this he’s making it really difficult for the state to fire him.Report
Like most public defenders do. There’s nothing more appealing to the average voter than a platform of providing accused criminals with a vigorous defense.Report
Partly this depends on what the “average” voter looks like and where he’s running, but more importantly, this puts his name out in front of the average person.
This is a PR stunt, which isn’t to say he doesn’t believe in what he’s doing or he’d be unlikely to be a Public Defender to begin with.Report
Silly, as if the governor was the only person responsible for the budget. I wonder if members of the legislature will be next?Report