Equal Before The Law

Most trying is dealing with prosecutors who aren't sympathetic to the tribulations of lives unlike their own. In one memorable case, a city attorney argued that a homeless client should get 60 days behind bars for illegal possession of a shopping cart because he had prior convictions for the same offense and didn't seem to be "learning his lesson."

Despite the frustrations, I've never regretted becoming a public defender. If I had gone to a law firm or become a prosecutor, I would have been surrounded by people like me. This would have given me little opportunity--and indeed, in the case of a prosecutor, little reason--to challenge my own prejudices. As a public defender, I must bridge the divide between us and them, myself and my client, proving that everyone is equal before the law. Doing so requires empathy and patience, two characteristics that everyone, particularly the Janes of society, could use.

LAVE IS A DEPUTY PUBLIC DEFENDER IN SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

© 1998