Lisa Falkenberg’s column in yesterday’s Chronicle called for the creation of a Public Defender’s Office in Harris County, with Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) leading the charge.

“If you’re not with me,” the Houston senator sternly told members of the Houston Lawyers’ Association, “I hope you figure out a way to be quiet.”

Hmm. Silencing the critics. Looks like the Chronicle and Senator Ellis have a lot in common.

The article goes on to criticize the current system in place for the appointment of qualified defense attorneys to represent indigent defendants accused of crimes. Ellis and Falkenberg’s idea? Create a Public Defender’s Office.

Right now, some of the best criminal defense attorneys in the nation do criminal appointments in Harris County. Names like Skip Cornelius, Tyrone Moncreiff, Anthony Osso, David Cunningham, Alvin Nunnery, Jerry Guerinot, Layton Duer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Katherine Scardino, Robert Morrow, and other phenomenal attorneys do criminal appointments. And they do a damn good job of it, too.

If they need a private investigator to work on a case they are handling, they file a Motion with the court for the funds to hire one. I’ve never seen one of those motions denied. I’ve also never seen a Motion to Appoint an Expert denied, either. These fine members of the Defense Bar cover all of the bases. While it is easy for someone sitting on the sidelines to cast stones, I challenge Senator Ellis and Lisa Falkenberg to come down to the courthouse and watch these guys in action. They may like painting a picture of the bumbling “court appointed attorney” to their constituents/readers, but the facts just don’t support it.

I would strongly encourage Senator Ellis to solicit examples of where court appointed attorneys went to a judge for funds and were told “sorry, but we’re broke”. He should, at a minimum, look into that before single-handedly creating yet another governmental agency.

Falkenberg headlines a portion of her article as “Not a Radical Concept”, and goes on to write:

Fair Defense Act, eventually became law, but a series of scandals — from the tainted HPD crime lab to high-profile exonerations to District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal’s recent resignation — have forced anyone who cares about the criminal justice system in this county to question whether it isn’t badly broken.

Um, I’m not really sure what the crime lab scandal and Chuck’s resignation have to do with the creation of a Public Defender’s Office, but, her, it’s the Chronicle. They have to get their digs in where they can, regardless of the relevance to the topic.

Here’s the bottom line, folks. The Fair Defense Act weeded out unqualified attorneys from representing people accused of crimes. The attorneys on the appointment lists passed tests and have good reputations in the legal community for the work that they do.

Those same folks that I listed above would have no desire or incentive to go to work for a Public Defenders Office after creating successful and reputable law practices of their own. If these attorneys aren’t getting the resources that they need to defend cases, then give the County more money to assist them.

But a whole new Public Defenders Office? Why?

The people that would staff that Office would probably, for the majority, be people fresh out of law school. I don’t care if they went to the best law school in the world, they would still take years within a Public Defenders Office before they were able to develop the skills to defend against experienced Prosecutors.

And what will they do once they acquire that experience?

They will probably leave for private practice.

Falkenberg titles that section “Not a Radical Concept”. I agree that it isn’t radical, but it isn’t good either.

As for Senator Ellis, you need to realize there are other alternatives. If Judges aren’t in compliance with the Fair Defense Act, then sanction them into compliance. If appointed Defense Attorneys aren’t getting funds that they need to defend their cases, then give them more money. If those same attorneys aren’t effective at representing their clients, then remove them from the appointment list.

I know the idea of a Public Defenders Office sounds lovely on paper, but the real ramifications of it would cause dire consequences for people accused of crimes.