Sharing why I am a #barexam abolitionist: the history of the bar exam is ugly. In 1875, the first Civil Rights Act passed. White people feared Black people would have more access to civic life, (even tho the Act failed) including becoming attys which at the time just needed 1/8
Litigation is wild because you show up every day to do your job and at the same time there is another person who also shows up to their job every day whose job is to actively prevent you from doing your job. And people wonder why lawyers are stressed out.
@benjayherr @KeneAkers There is a lot of important, intelligent, poignant commentary about the state of American policing that one could say about this interaction and her role in it. Reverting to fat shaming isn’t that, however.
@dwaynebetts Proud to be a Wesleyan alum and proud to have volunteered with CPE while a student there. David Haywood’s accomplishment, — one made against all odds — is incredible! I can’t wait for him to return home, where he belongs.
Just landed in NYC! Can’t wait to see @mroth78 and a few hundred @wes_alumni friends in Middletown for 2013’s 10th reunion this weekend.
Welcome to the best reunion cycle, @wesleyan_u Class of 2023!
The National Police Association chose to describe the man who choked someone to death on a crowded NYC subway as a “good samaritan.” They are raising money to defend a killer. Cops don’t care about public safety; they exist to criminalize and oppress people of color.
"How do you represent *those* people??" they ask me, never blinking in the direction of the attorneys who bill $1000+ per hour to try to keep corporations from having to pay the families of people they killed.
I know everyone has theories about what accounts for longevity in public defense world, but as someone newly with a case reduction who all of the sudden feels like she could do this job forever — the answer is just like, fewer cases. No one can be effective with PD case loads.
@AirbnbHelp@bethanyhallam@AirbnbHelp as a public defender, I see everyday how US crim legal system & its convictions say nothing about the ppl it impacts and everything about our collective apathy towards racial & economic justice. A crim record shouldn’t limit one’s ability to use ur platform.
Progressive DA recalled b/c of homelessness, drug abuse & lack of arrest in SF - all issues beyond his control. Meanwhile DAs are never recalled for not prosecuting bad cops, wrongful convictions, racist charging & contributing to mass incarceration - all issues w/i their control
Before all is said and done, I have a few things to say about the @chesaboudin recall.
First, it is baseless. FBI data shows that violent crime has gone down in SF. And in reality, it is well reported and documented that wealth inequality drives crime, not DA policies.
The Denver program to send social workers instead of police (STAR) has responded to over 2,200 calls low-level/intox/MH calls.
They have never called for police back-up due to a safety issue.
Never.
Think about that.
Today was probably one of the worst days I’ve had as a public defender. Everyone assumes the clients make this job hard. Nope. Prosecutors and judges do.