Risky Business: Criminal Specialty Courts and the Ethical Obligations of the Zealous Criminal Defender

Abstract

Recently, while waiting in the local community courti with a student from the Howard University School of Law Criminal Justice Clinic, 2 1 witnessed a defendant requesting that a new lawyer be appointed to her case. The defendant complained to the judge that her court-appointed lawyer did not tell her what was going on in her case, and that he had been working against her. The judge asked us to take over the case, and we interviewed this new client. With tears streaming down her face, our new client explained that she felt that