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My theory on how to fix this is to maintain the adversarial nature of the courts. Don't force the DA to prosecute cops. Have them maintain the relationship as i

My theory on how to fix this is to maintain the adversarial nature of the courts. Don't force the DA to prosecute cops. Have them maintain the relationship as it currently works and let the DA become the the cops' lawyer by default while the Public Defenders' office take over the role of prosecuting police. Since the PD and DA are already set-up this way in relationship to policing, this makes more sense than trying to wring impartiality out of the DA; they have to work hand in hand with police to convict criminals and need to maintain a cozy relationship. The simplest solution would be to keep the dividing lines the way they are.

thelittlenag 6y ago
That it doesn't already work this way, or something similar to this, I find bizarre.
philjohn 6y ago
Or have dedicated prosecutors who aren't already overloaded and underpaid as public defenders are.
macintux 6y ago
My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked, so the only way to make this work is to make sure they’re resourced appropriately, which would be a tough battle politically.
- akvadrako 6y ago
  It sounds like a good idea. It might be easier to get public support for being "tough on police" then defending accused criminals.
- ciarannolan 6y ago
  >My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked [...] By design.
- ardy42 6y ago
  > My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked, so the only way to make this work is to make sure they’re resourced appropriately, which would be a tough battle politically. That would be a worthy battle in itself. Public Defenders' offices should be funded as well as criminal prosecutors' offices, and organizationally be (at least) peers of them.
hpoe 6y ago
Public Defenders are already vastly overworked and under resourced, with only about 10 minutes to spend on a case on average. My hats off to those folks they are some of the greatest heroes in society right now. If I were to be able to cash out of tech I would either become a school teacher or public defender.
drocer88 6y ago
How about having the judge do some questioning?

thelittlenag 6y ago

That it doesn't already work this way, or something similar to this, I find bizarre.

philjohn 6y ago

Or have dedicated prosecutors who aren't already overloaded and underpaid as public defenders are.

macintux 6y ago

My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked, so the only way to make this work is to make sure they’re resourced appropriately, which would be a tough battle politically.

akvadrako 6y ago
It sounds like a good idea. It might be easier to get public support for being "tough on police" then defending accused criminals.
ciarannolan 6y ago
>My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked [...] By design.
ardy42 6y ago
> My suspicion is the Public Defenders’ offices are nearly universally underfunded and overworked, so the only way to make this work is to make sure they’re resourced appropriately, which would be a tough battle politically. That would be a worthy battle in itself. Public Defenders' offices should be funded as well as criminal prosecutors' offices, and organizationally be (at least) peers of them.

hpoe 6y ago

Public Defenders are already vastly overworked and under resourced, with only about 10 minutes to spend on a case on average. My hats off to those folks they are some of the greatest heroes in society right now. If I were to be able to cash out of tech I would either become a school teacher or public defender.

drocer88 6y ago

How about having the judge do some questioning?