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Too Busy

I've tried four cases so far this year of my own, and sat second chair on the trial and retrial of another. Tomorrow, I'll probably pick a jury on a complicated, challenging child molestation. My opinion is that we will be fighting a long, uphill battle, yet the client wants to charge forward.

There is simply too much work, now. We need more lawyers, because I cannot prepare these cases to the same extent that I was able to just last summer. Almost everyone I've spoken to feels overwhelmed and there is no end in sight. I don't think that any of us can prepare cases to the level where we are satisifed or the level for which our office is famous. The current situation is a professional disappointment and raises the question: why am I doing this?

This seemingly never-ending wave of cases needs to break.

Full post as published by A Public Defender's Journal on August 09, 2009 (boomark / email).