Life as a Public Defender
BROWARD COUNTY, Florida -- I had three trials set for one week in early July and I had to prepare for them all because I had no idea which one or two would actually go forward. As my luck would have it they were all different crimes. Tuesday's case was a 'resisting arrest without violence' case. Wednesday I had two trials scheduled; one was for driving while under the influence and possession of cannabis, and the other was a trespass. I figured the trespass wouldn't be heard because I had made a speedy trial demand in the DUI/Cannabis case.
First up was the 'resisting' so I prepared for that trial before the others. It was Christmas Day when my client, Mr. Atkins, was arrested. Mr. Atkins' son was out riding his new dirt-bike in a neighborhood with a group of other motorcyclists. Mr. Atkins was at home with his son's mother when there was a knock on the door. A friend of their son's came to their house to tell the couple that their son had been shot by police.
Mr. Atkins jumped in his car and raced to the location. When he arrived he saw his son's dirt-bike on the back of a tow truck but he couldn't find his child. Mr. Atkins approached the officers screaming and asking where was his son. I don't think the officers on scene had any idea why Mr. Atkins was so emotionally wild and irate.
An officer in fear for his safety told Mr. Atkins to raise his hands -- my client didn't obey his command and he was arrested. We later found out that his son fell off his motorcycle but it wasn't because he was shot -- although witnesses do say a Taser was fired at a motorcyclist that night. The offer in this case was 30 days in jail. Mr. Atkins, a father who supports his family by working as a forklift operator, would have lost everything if he went to jail.
The day before trial Mr. Atkins got cold feet and he was willing to resolve his case if jail was off the table. I was given permission to tell the State our defense and I was able to get them to agree to 6 months' probation, so he took it.
I immediately turned my focus to my DUI/Cannabis trial. I thought for sure this case was going to be heard. My client, a young man, looked good on the police video and he was adamant that he was not drunk the night he was pulled over. Interestingly, he had been pulled over just 6 days earlier by the same officer, for a problem with his taillights.
I had asked the State on Monday morning if this case was definitely going to trial and I was told it was. So that night I only focused on the DUI case. The next day, on Tuesday afternoon, I received a call saying the State would change the charge to a reckless driving. I wasn't worried about the cannabis, it was .01 grams and found on the back floorboard of the car behind the passenger's seat. I knew the State would withhold adjudication on that charge. I called my client to relay the news and I quickly learned this case was also going to settle.
It now looked liked trial number three, trespass, would be heard by a jury. I didn't have high hopes for winning because I knew it would come down to the officer's word against ours. The trespass was charged as a 2nd degree misdemeanor. The maximum penalty was 60 days in jail and my client had already done his time while waiting for trial.
From the day I met Mr. Carter he insisted that he was innocent. The police report was short. It said that the homeowner, in front of the officer, told Mr. Carter to leave. It went on to say that while the officer was still at the house Mr. Carter returned and was found "lingering and hiding behind the home." We tried but couldn't find any witnesses to back up Mr. Carter's story that he was arrested down the block. The jury was seated and we presented our opening statements before breaking for lunch.
Upon returning to court the state attorney addressed the court with news that over the break the police officer had told her that Mr. Carter wasn't on the property, it was more like an "attempted trespass." The state rested their case without presenting any evidence and we were granted a judgment of acquittal.
As happy as I was for Mr. Carter that the truth was finally acknowledged, I left the courtroom seething as I questioned if justice was really served. The officer lied on the police report and Mr. Carter was arrested because of it.
The lives of three different people were impacted and hours were spent in preparation for cases that a jury never heard - in just one example of a typical week for a Public Defender.
The high profile trials of Manuel Noriega, Timothy McVeigh, OJ Simpson and George Zimmerman are among the important legal stories Kim Segal covered as a journalist for over two decades. While working as a producer for CNN, she began attending law school at night, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2005.
At 46, she left her television career for a position as a Public Defender in Broward County, Florida.