Theresa Caballero
Attorney at Law
300 E. Main St., Suite 1136
El Paso, TX 79901
915.565.3550
915.562.5250 fax
Stuart L. Leeds
Attorney at Law
1715 Wyoming Ave,
El Paso, Texas 79902
July 7, 2010
Mr. Steve Ortega. Esq.
El Paso, TX 79901
Dear Mr. Ortega:
We understand that you will be reporting to the courthouse tomorrow to comply with your obligation of representing an indigent person accused of a crime. We have a copy of a letter you sent to the council of judges seeking to be released from that obligation. The rule, as you know, is pay $600 and be relieved of the duty, or keep your money and take the criminal case, which you will be paid for. Many lawyers who do not practice criminal law and who feel that they would not possess the requisite skills to represent a person in a criminal case pony up and pay the $600. Despite your written protests that you have “never handled a criminal case and do not feel comfortable morally or professionally doing so,” it appears that you will stick with your cash and take the appointment. This is a grave responsibility.
Criminal cases are the most severe in our system. A person stands to lose his freedom, his right to bear arms (affecting his right to protect himself and his family), his right to vote, his right to hold office, his right to serve on a jury, his right to seek certain occupations, his right to compete for certain school loans. Everything is at stake for an accused person. How can you educate your children if you are in prison or a convicted felon? Generations of people stand to be harmed and pay the price for a criminal conviction. That is why the burden of proof in a criminal case, beyond a reasonable doubt, is the highest burden in American law.
Another important point is that everyone who walks into court is presumed innocent and is absolutely entitled to that presumption and absolutely entitled to an attorney who will fight tooth and nail to preserve that presumption. Defendants do not need an attorney who already believes that because they have been accused they are guilty and therefore are morally repugnant. That is the last thing a poor, uneducated, helpless person needs when walking into court — an attorney who does not feel morally comfortable representing him. It’s like having a doctor who is disgusted by your disease and doesn’t want to touch you and publicly says so.
Are you willing to do everything to zealously represent the client to whom you will be assigned tomorrow? Are you willing to take a stand for him? Are you willing to defend him to the detriment of your own reputation? Are you willing to attack a cop who has accused him? A cop whose raise you are about to vote on and whose vote and union endorsement you will be counting on? Are you willing to attack DIMS, which you have so many times voted for and which most likely your client will have been a victim of? Are you willing to subpoena anyone anytime anywhere who may help your client’s case? Are you willing to shrug off criticism by politicians who are wholly and completely ignorant of the process and callous to its effects, but who will lie to cover up their own complicity? Are you willing to call out elected officials who have voted on measures that have curtailed your client’s rights and harmed him? Are you willing to call out an elected official who is disrupting the jury selection process by talking to other jurors and sticking out her tongue, exhibiting the utmost contempt for your client? Are you willing to demean yourself in the defense of your client as your attorney oath requires?
Do you have the courage to disclose to your client tomorrow the letter you wrote to the council of judges? (We understand you were questioning how we got the letter. It’s called good lawyering. It is public record and you need not concern yourself with that). Do you think your client may want to know about your letter? Would you want someone like you representing you on a criminal case without full disclosure of these facts? If the answer is “no” to any one of these questions, then you should pay the $600 and escape the case. Hopefully, if you decide to accept the case, you will take the opportunity to understand DIMS and the great harm it has wrought on this community and hopefully you will vote next time not to fund it, even if you are the only one voting against it. Part of being a good attorney is standing alone and fighting against all the odds.
Sincerely,
Theresa Caballero
Stuart L. Leeds