In 1963, when the Supreme Court overturned Gideon v Wainwright, Justice Hugo Black wrote: “Even the intelligent and educated layman requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence.” 

The public defender is that legal bulwark that works for a balance in our justice system. For this BCR conversation we heard from two public defenders from Prince George's County Circuit Court. Yahshauh Ford and Brandon Ruben contrasted the public defender's nuanced, human approach to justice with the blunt force of the prosecutor. They spoke of the difficulty of establishing a rapport with their clients -- poor and, for the most part. African American -- who sense that justice will never apply to them in this country -- and of the unequal power of the better-paid prosecutor to control the charging and sentencing process.

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