I am at a baseball game with a friend and his wife tonight. The wife finds out I'm a public defender, and she actually has a great understanding of what we do, and a lot of respect for it as well (ie - no questions like: "how do you deal with those guilty scumbags?"). We're talking about crime, gangs, violence, drugs, and things of the like, when she asks me: "can't you go talk to the mayor and have him legalize drugs, so we can clean up real crime instead of dealing with stupid drug crimes?"
Now, aside from the fact that the mayor has little to do with our drug policies (alright, actually he has next to zero), and the fact that anyone who does certainly won't be listening to a Public Defender, damn, she really had it right.
If only more people had that attitude, we may not be in the mess that we are in this society.
Sigh, if only.
2 comments:
Wrong. A mayor can control significant drug enforcement policy. A mayor normally appoints the city attorney or contracts with the D.A. to prosecute misdemeanors. So, "Mayoral Order:
Mr. or Ms. City Attorney, you hereby are instructed to cease prosecution of violations of narcotics prohibition laws, such as subdivision (a) of section 11550, and section 11532, subdivision (a)of the Health and Safety Code." If the CA balks, the mayor could fire him or her.
Prosecutorial discretion is a wonderful thing if exercised righteously.
BH (DPD L.A. County)
True...but it doesn't help the PD Dude all that much. He still has to defend the people who commit the "real crimes" she's talking about.
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