I’ve gotten a few phonecalls regarding this article, so I decided to re-post it for those who may have missed it. Enjoy and feel free to leave a comment.
I enjoy investigating. I don’t know why, I just do. Maybe its an innate curiosity that drives me to question everything or all those years being a cop that has trained my mind to look at things differently. Who knows? But I enjoy it nonetheless.
I’ve thought about that “why” for a while and after thirty-some years, have finally come up with two reasonable explanations. The first is an axiom of law; it is better to let a hundred guilty men go free than to send one innocent man to jail. The other is based in the rules of evidence; let the evidence guide you, it does not lie.
So how does this relate to being an investigator and State Public Defender cases? Good question. The answer is simple. Not everyone charged with a crime, accused of wrongdoing or looked upon with disdain by his fellow peers is guilty. Some in fact may even be victims, unwittingly manipulated by zealots willing to trample rights to make their cases.
Unfortunately, for the indigent it can even get worse and that is patently wrong. Being poor is no reason to suffer such atrocities. Every person deserves his day in court and I for one believe that wholeheartedly. That is why I take SPD cases. I want to help. Yet after reviewing several state and national alliances for investigators I see very few willing to take them and I have to ask why?
So my question for the blog is this: Is there a reason other than money why so few investigators are willing to take SPDs cases?