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Sarah, 2L
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Wow.
Things are busy in Puerto Rico right now. Today I was lucky enough to be in the courtroom to witness the Governor face federal charges. As reported in the New York Times, "Aníbal S. Acevedo Vilá, the governor of Puerto Rico, has been charged with 19 criminal counts related to the financing of three political campaigns from 1999 to 2004, including conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws, wire fraud and illegally using campaign funds for his personal use, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/27cnd-puerto.html?ei=5070&en=2dd5e68b0674f636&ex=1207281600&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1206717531-RZ0ABihneG0tO+lfBpY+ew
The Governor plead not guilty to all charges.
Us and Them
If you are engaged with the criminal defense side of the law at any point in your life - be it through prisoners rights work, as a public defender, or through general advocacy - you will again and again be asked different varieties of the question, “How can you work with those people ?” Some who ask the question will phrase it slightly more delicately, but the underlying emotion remains the same: those are bad people, they are not like us, they are beyond help, and they deserve whatever punishment they get.
These days, when people hear I am an intern at the Federal Public Defenders office, it seems everyone has a story to tell me about a gory crime committed and a criminal who didn’t get the punishment they should have had coming. A story, basically, about how criminal defense attorneys help people who have committed heinous crimes get away with them, scott free.
Doing criminal defense work could hardly be more different than that image. Instead, the attorneys here spend hours trying to help those accused of crimes understand their rights. The intricacies of the system hardly understood by most law students and lawyers: what it means to plea, the benefits and drawbacks of a jury trial, and the charts and graphs of the sentencing guildelines. Public defense attorneys spend the day talking to family members, helping them wade through the complicated criminal justice system. Attorneys here try to make sure that those being sentenced for crimes get a sentence that matches the individual situation of the defendant - hopefully, a sentence that will help them recover the life they are losing while incarcerated.
Yep, the reality of the criminal justice system isn’t much like CSI or Law & Order (which all focus on prosecution, it should be noted). It's not much like that at all. The “bad guys” are never quite so simple, the crimes rarely so elaborate and brilliantly planned. In reality, people get wrapped up in the criminal justice system for so many different reasons, usually not a scheme to make millions, and often non-violent offenses. People make bad decisions, they make mistakes, and they pay dearly for them. Usually this punishment - time in the hundreds of state and federal prisons throughout the country - guarantee that their interactions with the criminal justice system will continue for the rest of their lives. It is incredibly hard to reenter the “outside” after years in prison, with a gaping hole in your resume, in your personal life, and in your ability to interact with society as a whole.
The harsh reality is that those involved in the criminal justice system aren’t “those people” at all - they are us. Last month news sources reported that, for the first time in United States history, one in every one hundred Americans is incarcerated. (See the New York Times article on the report at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/28cnd-prison.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1206363871-4ViH+hZw3jRZENnLLPwIcw). If you were to do a true account of those directly affected by the prison system, it would reach far beyond that one in one hundred. It would include the fathers and children holding hands over tables in the visitation area at the federal detention center in Guyanabo, Puerto Rico. It would include the sisters and brothers in upstate New York mortgaging their hard-earned houses to pay for bail, to pay for an attorney, to support the families left behind. It would include sons and daughters across the country who haven't spent a holiday with family in decades.
I can never write eloquently enough to convey the suffering and agony of those imprisoned, and the pain and struggle of the family and friends they have left outside. Pop culture has romanticized prison in so many different ways, has made so many jokes about prison culture, and spread so many rumors about cable tv and life behind bars. Prison is none of these things. It is cold and institutional, it is bad food, and small spaces, and a constant feeling of fear. It is the loss of control, the loss of choice, and the absolute loss of freedom. Yes, many of those incarcerated have committed crimes, but all remain human. It is easy to forget that every day each of us wakes up, heads to school or to work, sees those that we love, makes the choice to do whatever we want with our day, millions of Americans are trapped in prison. If lucky, they may spend an hour or two in the fresh air. They are told when to walk, when to eat, when to bathe, and when to speak on the phone. All priveledges that may be revoked at any time, for almost any reason.
A number of people have been credited with a variation on the quote, but as Dostoevsky wrote,"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." For those who don’t want to acknowledge the complexities of the criminal justice system, those who don't want to look behind the black and white ideas of guilt and innocence, there is little that can be said (and certainly little in this short blog) to change their minds. The idea of "criminal justice" is complicated, it is both personal and political. However, it's also an issue that cannot be ignored. Because it's not just an issue - it's our friends, our family, and our responsibility.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Co-op is about so much more than the actual co-op you’re on. Maybe that sounds obvious, maybe it doesn’t. What I mean is that its also about finding out what type of place you enjoy being at (private, public), what area of law feels right to you, and, if you’re lucky enough to be in a new location, learning about the culture and legal intricacies of your surroundings. What’s piquing my interest right now, other than the fascinating process of learning about federal criminal law, is learning about the history of Puerto Rico, and the legal, cultural, and political relationship between this fascinating island and the rest of the United States.
On the state level, the primaries were held in Puerto Rico on Sunday, so the island has been chattering away about the race for Governor. I know I’m biased (I did prisoners rights work for 2 years before coming to law school), but the most exciting point for me has been the discovery that in Puerto Rico, prisoners are allowed to vote! In case you didn’t know, this is NOT the case in the rest of the United States. In fact, in many states, even after you have served your time, you are still denied the right to participate in elections. Personally, I think this is outrageous - even if convicted of a crime, I believe it is crucial to allow prisoners to maintain their involvement in democracy. Not only do I believe it’s the right thing to do in terms of civil and human rights, but I also believe it is a crucial element in the reentry of prisoners into society and in lessening the cultural gap between prisoners and the rest of society. But that’s for another, longer, conversation.
On the federal level, I have been undertaking an attempt to understand more about the political and legal relationship between the island of Puerto Rico and the federal government of the United States. In case you are unfamiliar (as I was, and still am to a great extent), here are a few important facts: Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States (following passage of the Jones Act in 1917), however, they do not have the right to vote in federal elections. Puerto Rico’s only representative in Congress, the Resident Commissioner, does not have the right to vote on legislation. Puerto Ricans are ineligible for certain benefits under a number of federal programs. A 1980 case, Harris v. Rosario, upheld this disparate treatment, writing that Congress “may treat Puerto Ricans differently from the States so long as there is a rational basis for its actions.”
If you are interested in learning more about the history of Puerto Rico, and specifically the development of legal rights of Puerto Ricans, a great starting place for me has been First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Juan R. Tourruella’s recent law review article, "The Insular Cases: The Establishment of A Regime of Political Apartheid." 29 U. Pa. J. Int'l L. 283 (Winter 2007). (The Insular Cases were a series of cases at the start of the 20th century which determined that only “fundamental” constitutional rights had been extended to Puerto Rico and other “unincorporated” territories. See also Elizabeth Vicens, "Application of the Federal Death Penalty Act to Puerto Rico: A New Test for the Locally Inapplicable Standard" 80 N.Y.U. K. Rev. 350 (April 2005), another great article). Judge Tourruella is in the fascinating position of being both Puerto Rican and a member of the federal judiciary. In stark terms, what this means is that while he holds one of the most influential and prestigious positions in the United States judiciary, he is not able to vote in the elections of the United States.
The history of the United States attitude towards Puerto Rico is rife with explicit racism. As Tourruella writes, for instance, “President Taft accused Puerto Rico’s elected leaders of irresponsibility and political immaturity, and stated that too much power had been given to Puerto Ricans ‘for their own good’.” 29 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. at 322-323. Many feel that this paternalistic attitude remains an undercurrent in Puerto Rican/U.S. relations. I continue to learn more, in the hopes of understanding this complex relationship.
I have been reading and rereading the powerful argument made by Justice Harlan in his dissent to one of The Insular Cases, and am impressed, as I often am, with Harlan’s forward-thinking stances. Justice Harlan writes: “Monarchical and despotic governments, unrestrained by written constitutions, may do with newly acquired territories what this Government may not do consistently with our fundamental law. To say otherwise is to concede that Congress may, by action taken outside of the Constitution, engraft upon our republican institutions a colonial system such as exists under monarchical governments. Surely such a result was never contemplated by the fathers of the Constitution . . . The idea that this country may acquire territories anywhere upon the earth, by conquest or treaty, and hold them as mere colonies or provinces - the people inhabiting them to enjoy only such rights as Congress chooses to accord them - is wholly inconsistent with the spirit and genius as well as with the words of the Constitution.”
Hola!
Hello from the offices of the Federal Public Defender in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Hato Ray, to be exact). I'm in my first week of co-op here, and loving it. Already I have watched oral arguments at the 1st Circuit, met with a number of District Court judges, interacted with Assistant United States Attorneys, and attended my first sentencing hearings...AND I've already been approved to visit the Federal Detention Center here in San Juan. Wow.
So I'm thrilled. The people here in the office are great - so enthusiastic about their work, and so welcoming. From what I have observed, the job of Federal Defender is incredibly active and varied, and more social than I expected. You have to be able to interact with clients and their families, field calls from different people all day, rush back and forth from the courthouse to meet with judges and opposing counsel, and still find time to conduct your legal research and writing! Attorneys here can have over 40 cases at one time. That would be a lot for anyone, but for attorneys who are passionate about providing great representation and are their clients only hope, it's even more pressure. I have so much respect for public defenders already, and these ones (who conduct themselves in two languages no less!) are only increasing my awe.
Other than work, the rest of PR is great too! I feel so lucky to be here. I get to hear both Spanish and English every day, enjoy nearly perfect weather, and be immersed in a new culture. Really, no complaints! It's probably the first time since I started law school that I haven't been whining.
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