Anthony Lewis
1927 - 2013
To My Readers
Iva Toguri (aka Tokyo Rose) never lost faith in her country even though her country lost faith in her. Hers is a captivating story of how momentous events and individual temperament can converge to make a scoundrel and a hero in one and the same person.
Anthony Lewis, who died March 25th at age 85 understood that little people can become big heroes. In "Gideon's Trumpet" the two time Pulitzer prize winner described how a small time crook, Clarence Gideon, changed the law of the land. Gideon's successful appeal to the Supreme Court insured that any American who could not afford an attorney would have a public defender appointed by the court. Lewis loved his country. He revered the Constitution, and he wrote passionately about the power of the Supreme Court to transform our lives. Anthony Lewis earned many accolades during his illustrious career but the epitaph that fits him best is - "Patriot".
Anthony Lewis, who died March 25th at age 85 understood that little people can become big heroes. In "Gideon's Trumpet" the two time Pulitzer prize winner described how a small time crook, Clarence Gideon, changed the law of the land. Gideon's successful appeal to the Supreme Court insured that any American who could not afford an attorney would have a public defender appointed by the court. Lewis loved his country. He revered the Constitution, and he wrote passionately about the power of the Supreme Court to transform our lives. Anthony Lewis earned many accolades during his illustrious career but the epitaph that fits him best is - "Patriot".
Unfortunately this is the real world ----
ReplyDeleteEvery year, America’s courts process thousands of offenders either with no lawyer or with a lawyer who does not have the time or resources to provide effective representation. In many courts, defendants are not entitled to counsel at their first appearance before a judge. Defendants without lawyers, especially in overwhelmed justice systems, are often pressured to plead guilty to lesser charges even if they are innocent, simply to move cases along.
One of countless examples of this problem comes from Florida. On any given day in Miami-Dade County, between 70,000 and 100,000 poor defendants charged with misdemeanors are without counsel.
Even when public defenders and appointed counsel are available, crushing caseloads often keep defendants from having meaningful access to a lawyer. Last year, for instance, the 420 public defenders in Cook County, Ill., handled more than 288,000 cases, an average of more than 680 cases per lawyer. No matter how good a job a lawyer wants to do, handling so many cases makes it impossible for the defender to be thorough.
As we face stretched government budgets, some lawmakers feel that prosecuting crimes is more important than funding defender services. But our American system depends on having equal resources for prosecution and defense. No judge or prosecutor wants to put the wrong person in jail. It is therefore crucial that each side has a lawyer with the time and resources to do a good job and make sure justice is done.