January 2023
Multnomah
Lawyers associated for justice, service, professionalism, education and leadership for our members and our community
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Est. 1906
How I Became Part of the Public Defense Crisis by John Robb MBA Treasurer In the March 2022 issue of the Multnomah Lawyer, I wrote about the crisis in indigent defense unfolding in Multnomah County and around Oregon. The crisis continues, and what I wrote in March remains applicable today. This month, I wanted to share my own experience of starting, and leaving, a career as a public defender. I still remember getting the call that I was going to become a public defender. I remember where I was standing in my apartment, the way the director of Multnomah Defenders told me I was getting hired, and the feeling of elation I had as I hung up the phone. I was well over $100,000 in debt and was just offered a job paying $44,900 a year, but I just landed my dream job. Public defense was not the career I envisioned when I started law school. In fact, becoming a criminal defense attorney was literally the last thing I wanted. I had no interest in, as I saw it, representing “criminals.” This changed during an externship with a trial court judge in Maricopa County, Arizona. Given the choice between criminal and civil, I chose civil. I happened to get paired with a judge with a long career as a public defender in Detroit and Phoenix, and one of very few Black judges in Arizona. While I was there, he volunteered to take several criminal trials and other proceedings in addition to his civil assignments and engaged with me in frequent and enthusiastic discussions after court ended. Seeing the reality of how the criminal justice system operated, and my discussions with the judge, opened my mind to criminal defense. I still vividly recall the trial that ended up making me a public defender. The defendant was a middle-aged man recently released from prison and facing a substantial mandatory sentence for allegedly taking part in a burglary. He was borrowing clothes from the public defender’s office to wear for court, and my judge let him change clothes in chambers so he wouldn’t have to do so in the public restrooms. I typically let him in and out. This was my first ever interaction with a “criminal,” and I didn’t know what to expect. The person I experienced was polite, mildmannered, and, above all, terrified. He ...becoming a criminal testified in his defense, and I believed defense attorney was him. I can still feel the pit in my literally the last thing stomach after the jury convicted. I spent my final term in law I wanted. school at the public defense clinic representing people charged with low-level drug felonies. I began hearing countless stories of poverty, trauma and abuse from people facing prison time and other life-altering consequences for offenses such as possessing a marijuana pipe. Afterwards I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than becoming a public defender.
My public defender origin story is far from unique. The moment I stepped foot into the public defender’s office, it was obvious my colleagues were there for similar reasons. To a person, each brought a tangible passion for the work and willingness to make significant sacrifices to follow that passion. You don’t become a public defender by accident. You also don’t become a public defender expecting a cushy gig. Stories of low pay, high caseloads, and lack of respect are ubiquitous. It didn’t take long, however, before I realized even these warnings couldn’t do justice to the reality. A year or two in, I recall feeling underwater and approaching a supervisor with decades of experience for advice about managing my ballooning caseload. He likened the caseloads to trying to drink from a firehose and observed that attorneys would consistently leave after about four years. Not from lack of passion or interest in the job - from burnout and exhaustion. No magic tricks or techniques were forthcoming, just an acknowledgement of A goal of mine was what I was experiencing. I made it five years before I decided to never having to put the firehose down. tell a client I could This decision was not made lightly only take their or quickly. When I started at the public case if they could defender’s office, I had every intention of making that my career. A goal of mine was afford to pay me. never having to tell a client I could only take their case if they could afford to pay me. Being a public defender was a firmly established part of my identity. Five years of drinking from the firehose, however, left me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually crumpled. I felt I either had to leave the public defender’s office or suffer severe personal damage. I know almost everyone reading this has been working long and hard hours since law school and before. Attorneys in every field have notoriously bad work-life balances. I still feel this in private practice. But there’s something different about those caseloads. Whenever I would return to the office after being in court I would instinctively look to my inbox and my heart would sink when I saw new files waiting for me, which was almost every time. Too often, these new files went straight to my filing cabinet - I’d look at them if and when my client called, or when I needed to show up to court. Continued on page 13
620 SW Fifth AVE., Suite 1220 Portland, Oregon 97204
Volume 69, Number 1
mba CLE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MBA will be offering all seminars ONLINE ONLY unless otherwise listed. To register for a CLE seminar, please see p. 3 or visit www.mbabar.org/cle and input your OSB number to register at the member rate.
JANUARY 1.19 Thursday Young Litigators Forum Series begins with Courtroom Nuts and Bolts Judge Adrian L. Brown Judge Eric L. Dahlin See insert for details 1.24 Tuesday Annual Probate Update Judge Patrick Henry Judge Thomas Rastetter Judge Janelle Wipper Amy Cross Bryan Marsh 1.25 Wednesday Landlord/Tenant Law Update Emily Rena-Dozier Troy Pickard
FEBRUARY 2.6 Monday Does My Client Need a Parenting Coordinator? Cassandra Marshall Charlene Sabin, MD 2.8 Wednesday Mastering Pretrial Motions Nathan Morales 2.10 Friday Appellate Law Update Judge Kristina Hellman Judge Katharine von Ter Stegge
MBA 19th Annual WinterSmash A Family Friendly Bowling Event
Multnomah Bar Association
January 2023
Saturday, February 4 11 a.m.-2 p.m. PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 00082
KingPins 3550 SE 92nd Ave
In This Issue Calendar ������������������������������������������ 2 CLE �������������������������������������������������� 3 Announcements ������������������������������� 5 Ethics Focus ������������������������������������� 5 Around the Bar ��������������������������������� 6 The Corner Office ������������������������������ 9 News From the Court �����������������������10 Tips From the Bench ������������������������10 MBF Board ������������������������������������� 11 Profile: Chief Justice Meagan Flynn �� 11 YLS �������������������������������������������������12 Classifieds ��������������������������������������16
Multnomah Bar Association 620 SW 5th Ave Suite 1220 Portland, Oregon 97204 503.222.3275 www.mbabar.org
A Multnomah Bar Foundation (CourtCare, CourtSupport and CourtConnect) Fundraiser See insert and page 2 for details.
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