Why I Became a Public Defender

I could have done anything after law school. I chose to defend those unable to afford to hire legal services.

Through the hardship of being a public defender I have come to appreciate two things: telling client’s stories and doing it with coworkers who care.

- Casey Elliot J.D.
University of Tennessee College of Law

“You’re my Shero.” As I read this email from my client, an inmate at a federal prison in Kentucky, I was confused. Moments later, I received a phone call from one of my legal clinic professors that Quincy Goins, my client of two years, had received clemency from President Obama on his life sentence. All the hours combing through the sentencing guidelines and the many revisions to our clemency petition had finally paid off. Or that is what I thought for a moment. I have realized that what really paid off was being able to tell Quincy Goins’ story effectively.

By this time, I had interned at the Memphis Public Defender’s office and the Federal Defenders in Nashville. I was interested in public defense, and honestly, it seemed like a fun job. The work is dynamic. You’re on your feet, you’re meeting new people every day, and for an extrovert like me, that was exciting. What sold me was this case. Actually, getting to know my client and telling his story was profoundly important in my life. A 20-year-old Black kid from rural Tennessee receiving a life sentence for possessing cocaine seemed like a significant injustice. That story led me to pursue becoming a public defender.

What I have learned since then in my three years at the Nashville Defenders office has been eye-opening. Public defending is not an easy job. Both outsiders to the criminal justice system and sometimes our clients may think we are incompetent at what we do or even immoral for doing it. I would love for the average citizen to understand that the right to an attorney when accused of a crime is afforded to ALL by our constitution. And it should not be determined by the ability to pay. In the case Gideon vs. Wainwright, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and, as such, applies to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

There are so many barriers to success in meeting the needs of clients. Large caseloads and lack of resources make it difficult to fight for poor people accused of crimes, people who are already the most marginalized in society. Clients who use our services qualify as financially indigent.

In Davidson County, the population of legally innocent but indigent incarcerated individuals made up 81% of Nashville’s entire local jail population in the Spring of 2020. This work also takes an emotional toll. While I met Quincy near the end of his story with the criminal justice system, and it ended in success, not all cases are that way. Many clients whose tragic life stories are not taken into account are once again steamrolled by the justice system.

Through the hardship of being a public defender, I have come to appreciate two things: telling client’s stories and doing it with coworkers who care. For me, the integral part of fighting for indigent clients and representing them well is meeting them at the place where they are and telling their story. Whether that means filing a bond motion or all the way to a jury trial, it is essential to give our clients dignity and respect. I also know I could not do this job without my coworkers. Our office is filled with highly motivated, trained attorneys and support staff. They are degreed professionals from some of the best law schools in the country, with a dedication that humanizes the accused and contextualizes their actions to juries and judges and prosecutors when trying to negotiate the resolution of a case in a society plagued with racism and poverty. It takes a unique mindset to practice law as a public defender.

The Nashville Defenders are ready to provide effective, ethical, and constitutional representation due to every person accused of a crime. As ruled in Gideon vs. Wainwright: the “noble ideal” of “fair trials before impartial tribunals in whichever defendant stands equal before the law . . . cannot be realized if the poor man charged with a crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.” Working with a group of people committed to representing the poor people of our community to the best of their ability is inspiring.

Nashville Defender Attorneys and Chief Defender Johnson would love to come speak at your next event and share information about the Criminal Legal System in Davidson County. Contact our communications coordinator Lyn Hoyt lynfhoyt@jisnashville.gov