Why Are You a Public Defender?
by Meryl Carver-Allmond, BIDS Training Director
In honor of Gideon month, we asked several attorneys from across the state “Why are you a Public Defender?” Here are their responses.
"I am naturally a helper and this job afforded me the opportunity to help people in a meaningful way. I’ve stayed with the PD’s office over the years because every day at this job is different and I am constantly being challenged. I also love that I am encouraged to express myself and use my creativity in my position." Dwayna McFerren (Sedgwick County)
"After seeing the different roles between a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I came to the conclusion that being a prosecutor is easy. It is more of a challenge to be a public defender because 1) you don’t get to pick your cases; 2) you don’t get to decide if the case should go to trial (your client does); and 3) you have to think on your feet.” Phil Yau (North Central)
"I went to law school with vague notions of protecting people's rights and helping them. I had always been interested in the constitution and the theoretical aspects of how law works. However, I had no intention of doing criminal law….But when I started clerking after law school, reading the briefs and opinions, it became pretty clear to me that the people really litigating the constitution every day were the criminal defense attorneys….Today I am proud to be a PD, and I really am not sure I could envision doing much else. Where else would I get the chance to find out what the constitution really does protect? Where else do I get to focus 100% of my effort on actually helping people and fighting injustice, without worrying whether a profit is going to be turned on the case? Where else can I stand up and demand accountability from the government, and try my best to make sure they follow the constitution? There is really only one place I can do all of this, day in and day out, and that's being a PD. So I reckon I'll probably continue to be a PD as long as they'll let me; everything else seems to kind of suck in comparison.” Kai Mann (ADO)
"I became a public defender because I wanted to help the helpless. We are often all that stands between the juggernaut of the government and our clients who lack the resources, and often even the capacity, to defend themselves. I have found out what I love the most about being a public defender is that I get to stand up for the little guy against the giant, regardless of who they are or what they did or didn’t do. As a bonus, I get to seek to find the good in my clients, again regardless of who they are and what they did or didn’t do, so I can bring that out and share it with those who are tasked with judging them. I can say that this profession has in many ways cleansed my soul, despite the darkness that is often wrongfully imbued to it." Will Machado (Tenth Judicial District)