Funding Criminal Defense

Meredith Nicholson posts reference to a recent letter to the editor:

Brad Bannon is a friend and colleague who represents the best in the criminal defense bar – he is honest, thoughtful, creative, indomitable and fights like hell for his clients despite overwhelming odds. Imagine waking up every day and defending the interests of folks that society would just as soon forget about – people accused of assault, robbery, sex offenses, DWI’s. Now imagine doing that every day and making less per hour than you made five years ago.

Nobody cares about funding criminal defense, until they find themselves or their loved ones charged with a crime.

It’s no surprise to me that Justice Martin failed to mention criminal defense. I applaud Brad for reminding us that years of budget cuts and exploding growth affect everyone who works in the justice system, including the CRIMINAL justice system.