Adam Ruins Everything - Why the Public Defender System is So Screwed Up 

as a lawyer myself, I feel all lawyers must be compulsorily made public defenders for a particular period of time. like 1 case every 2 years or so or they won't be accepted as lawyers.

12 minutes per client? That's criminal

Case loads would drop dramatically if drug usage was just considered a health issue, not a criminal one.

Create laws with long sentences, under fund the defense, incarcerate more people, have private prisons stay full - profit!

"you have the right to an attorney if you cannot afford one we will provide the dumbest overworked and underpaid attorney we can find"

To those asking about why do people become Public Defenders, here's the deal. Most people become public defenders for 3 reasons. 1. They genuinely wanna help people 2. It looks good on your resume, especially if you have plans to become a Judge or run for office 3. You can't get another job. Of the three, 1. is obviously the rarest. Most people treat this office as a stepping stone. Being a PD would actually be a really great job, if it wasn't for the mountains of work and the crappy pay. PD gives you good exposure for being a lawyer. You get significant real world experience, and find out how the system actually works. However, for most people its not 'worth it'. And sure, private firms have similar work crunch. But tell me. Would you rather come home at 2 AM in a Mercedes, or use the subway? Source: Law Student who grew up around lawyers

That was the most lesbian looking lesbian I've ever seen

Yyyyep. Because "tough on crime" looks good to voters and "funding the defense of people who may or may not have done anything wrong" doesn't, for some reason. When you think about it for a second, of course there's a conflict of interest, and we could change it if enough people paid attention. But that won't happen any time soon.

I think the Court System should implement a policy where all lawyers must do at least one public defender case for every 7 or 8 private cases. Idk though, I'm not educated in law.

Lawyers should work exclusively for the government, its immoral for richer to people to have more leniency under the law

In the Netherlands, legal costs are covered by the government as a form of social relief, depending on your income.

Understaffed defenses, less time per client, better paid prosecutors. What is this Phoenix Wright?

There was an open letter put out by a public defender- because there's a sort of prejudice that if they were arrested, they're probably guilty, their task is so much harder than that of the prosecution. There was a case where the prosecutor deliberately ignored evidence that didn't fit their story, and the defense simply didn't provide information that they didn't have, which would have made their defendant look guilty (remember: one side was outright lying, one side just didn't know). The prosecutor got a slap on the wrist, and the defender was nearly disbarred

12 minutes per client? I too live in Minnesota but only got about half that...

its true if you ever played the ace attorney series, you would know that prosecutors have it better than the defense attorneys.

This is what happens when the system is designed to keep as many people behind bars as possible.

I've been on jury duty twice where public defenders were involved and I have to say, they were utterly unprepared.

The US can be summed up like this: Govt: "We have problems, we also have solutions" Company: *gives money* Govt: "What solutions? It's only problems" No wonder Bernie and Trump have so much support.

I had to sit in on several trials and cases as part of my high school graduation requirements. It blew my mind though, when I saw the same defender for like thirty different people. Sixty cases that day, and only two defenders. I felt bad for one of the guys too, because he had misunderstood the terms of his client's sentence, and was arguing a moot point for about five minutes. They're way too overworked.

That's...actually awful. I never knew any of this, except when the odds of them winning are stacked against them. I hope that this gets fixed sometime in the future!

As a Brazilian Public Defender, I have to say that we face some very similar struggles here as well (understaffing, excess of cases etc.). As a difference I'd point that the Public Defender career in Brazil is very hard to join, requires previous practice and it's quite attractive financially, notably in some States. However, the overall funding, especially when compared to the Prosecution costs, is ridiculously low: in the Federal level, for instance, the Public Defense annual budget corresponds to 0,5% of the Prosecution budget. Still, it's a career of many personal achievements and that can truly provide a sense of accomplishment and social relevance.

It's because those lawyers are state paid and private institutions will always make more money because of that. State budgets simply do not have enough money to pay public defenders 100k a year or more

The biggest flaw in the American justice system is still that important decicions are made by a bunch of people who now nothing about the law and rather judge based on their emotions then on facts.

so is phoenix wright considered a public defender?

I appreciate the direction your going with Adam Ruins Everything. You have been shredding more light on incredible errors in our currently standing systems.

man our justice system is missed up!

i sat on a jury last year. the lawyer for the defendant was terrible. He failed the defendant and was sent him away for 5 years. If he had a decent lawyer he would be free. I honestly believe that.

The public defender shortage is crazy. The first thing to ease the workload would be being less hard-on-crime-- make less victimless crimes crimes, and allow the ones that are to have lower sentencing so that there's less on the line. From there... someone suggested below making all lawyers obligated to taking on public defence cases sometimes... of course you'd have to limit that to criminal trial lawyers, not all lawyers, but there's something there. Mostly, though, what needs to be done to fix this in the long run is to put more money in the system. Pay public defenders at least as competitively as public prosecutors. Make more people want to be public defenders, do cases on the state's money rather than the clients.

Not to mention that normally a case doesn't go to court unless the prosecution feels that they will most likely win. Prosecutors don't like wasting their time with cases they will probably lose. So a defender usually stands little chance of getting his/her client from going to jail. It's usually more about damage control, getting the client a ten year sentence with a shot at parole instead of a 25 year sentence without parole.

No wonder Pheonix cant afford a car.

Wtf wood paneling sucks! It's out of style and it's the main reason why we have to remove them in our homes. Also, Phoenix Wright is screwed!

This is why I have always said that the only color that really matters is green. There might be some inherent racism in the judicial system, but if you have enough money that can be negated.

As I get older and older, you basically realize how everything is motivated by the ole’ mighty Dollar

OBJECTION!

Slap an obscene tax on private practice and use it to hire more public defenders. Case closed.

Since Public Defenders are paid by the state, private Lawfirms will always be able to pay better. So there will always be more private lawyers than public defenders. The only way to fix this issue of not enough Public defenders is to get people to stop committing crimes and suing each other for pretty much everything.

1:04 that fall was faster and more realistic than most falls in movies

Simple way to fix this, get rid of the title of public defendant and require lawyers to have a percentage of their clients be pro-bono.

Yea, it's true. I was locked up for 6 years, and public defenders were so useless that we'd call them "public pretenders".

For anybody that doesn't know, if you're ever charged with a criminal act and can't afford a paid lawyer, your best bet is to try to plea the charges down and plead guilty to those even if you didn't do it. In most cases you don't even get to meet your public defender until the day of your court appearance so there's no real way to build a defense. You can try to get a new court date, but if you're sitting in jail it could be a year or more before you go to trial. That's a year or more of your life gone when depending on the charge you could have been out in a month or two. There's no incentive to try to prove your innocence if you're poor.

Maybe I'm going crazy but.... Is it possible that the company who owns the prision system do something to cut the budget for them so they lose more cases and get more people incarcerated, thus making more money?

The solution is very simple so just prepare yourselves cause you might feel dumb for not thinking of it sooner.... ready? END THE DRUG WAR!!!

Phoenix Wright: "OBJECTION! This video contains a contradiction!" Judge: "Where is it?" Phoenix Wright: "Um...right in the middle?" Miles Edgeworth: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Clearly, Mr. Wright is the only one stalling so he can buy time." Judge: "I agree with the prosecution on this statement. Mr. Wright, you bought yourself a penalty for stalling." **Health bar gets completely erased** Judge: "I think I have heard enough of this trial..." Miles Edgeworth: "Better luck next time, Mr. Wright." Phoenix Wright: *No! I need to find evidence to prove that this video has a contradiction.* Judge: "I shall now declare a verdict..." Phoenix Wright: *Dammit, there isn't any contradiction!* Judge: "I hereby declare the defendant..." *Guilty* ..."Court is adjourned." **Slams gavel**

"I really thought you were into wood panels." LOL OMG, I DIED THERE

so it turns out we know why phoenix wright gets away with being such a goof

I had to do the Public Defender's job for my wife because all they wanted to do was plea bargin and didn't even look at the fabricated evidence that contained misspellings, false information and more. One look at the "receipt" would show this but they didn't bother.

They should've done a christmas special where Adam talks about the origin of christmas presents, christmas three, and the saint we based santa on is actually from turkey ;)

"I just thought yo liked wood paneling.

So... Like Phoenix Wright, but busier? XD

The "lawyers at private firms up to double" part got me. More like 5 to 10 times as much or more. It's even worse than she makes it out to be in my experience.

And on top of everything said in this video, I remember listening on NPR that the public defendant situation was so bad that a few states had order a few private law firms to take on public defendant cases. They were ordered to take on pro bono work because of the shortage of overworked and over stretched public defenders.

what laywer actually wants to help people like seriously help people. If it wasn't for the money no one would even be a lawyer

That lawyer looks like a female lesbian Elon Musk.

I’m a private attorney. I know several PDs. Many of them are incompetent; and others are honestly the best attorneys I know. The system is built around plea deals. It’s basically taken to be a fact. The truth of the matter is that if all people took their cases to trial, the entire system would collapse. If all people pursued their due process rights to the fullest, everything would be backlogged for eternity. In other words, everyone CAN’T have full and vigorous representation in criminal court. If they did, no system would exist that even closely resembled the myth of Due Process. What you get is the choice of representation, which may or may not be good. But “justice” can’t wait for full and good representation of everyone. Some people benefit from The fact that others simply can’t afford “justice.”

Here's some things the video *doesn't* mention: - Private attorneys don't prosecute criminals cases. They can do criminal defense. So remember when the video mentions that public defenders take on over 80% of the criminal defense work? Assistant district attorneys have to prosecute 100% of criminal cases. If PD caseloads are enormous, it's even worse for ADAs. - Prosecution is generally funded more than public defenders. True enough. Bear in mind, prosecutors have to prove *every* case beyond *any reasonable doubt*. They shoulder the entire burden of a case. Defendants have a constitutional right not to have to do a damn thing... the case must be proven by the prosecutor. So, yes, they need more funding for investigations, hiring expert witnesses, etc. Oh yeah, and remember the caseload thing? Prosecutors have *way* more work to do per case due to the burden of proof. - If a public defender is somehow stretched too thin to provide a constitutionally adequate defense and a conviction is obtained thereby, the conviction can be set aside through an appeal alleging ineffective assistance of counsel--enough if the defendant is guilty as sin. If the claim of ineffective assistance is missed on appeal, the conviction can still be collaterally attacked through a habeas petition. The system bends over backwards for defendants, make no mistake. It's not perfect, but our laws ensure the Sixth Amendment is scrupulously honored. I could go on, but really, cry me a river. Prosecutors are also paid beans compared to private attorneys and they have to work harder than the defense side to do their jobs proficiently. It's a sacrifice for *both sides* to work in the public sector. The deck is *not* stacked against the defense as this video would have you believe.

That's the most lesbian lesbian I've ever seen

2:13 Guys I found PewDiePie’s legs

Rhea Butcher is one hot public defender.

Man, I love this show! Especially when Adam gets taught. :) it’s just great to learn stuff!

What I enjoy about this episode is watching the judge enjoying Adam's conviction

Izzat pants? Just walkin around like some guy on a tuesday afternoon?

john oliver

Adam ruins The end of the world theory

I like how this video makes things look better than it actually is

Probably why so many people take plea bargains regardless of their guilt or innocence. I believe only a fraction of cases actually go to court.

Points for tight continuity from the prison episode.

I am in love with Adam's sister.

was the person with brown hair an female or an male?

John Oliver covered this on one of his shows. It's CRAZY how flawed the system is 😒

Is that defender doing an imitation of Ted from Scrubs?

Adam's sister is Phoenix Wright?

According to Nolo, a Law book company, the rates of incarcerations are nearly the same between public defenders and private lawyers. The results speak for themselves.

as someone who has had experience in a public defender's office in california it is not that bad but we need more people. It largely political. DA's get bigger budgets because politicians want to be tough on crime and not to appear that they are helping criminals. As for the salary, it is not that bad. Not great like big law, but not bad in CA. However, in some states it is horrendous. I think in Oklahoma they start at 33k. Keep in mind most law students graduate with 100k plus debt. Going to back to big law vs. Public Defender, I have known quite a few attorneys who ended up coming to a public defender's office from a big law office because they hated big law so much. Think 80 hours weeks, only half of which may be billiable, and these billable hours are what will advance you in the firm. Additionally, most big law firms require 2000 billable hours minimum. Do the math. In terms of experience, public defenders are some of the best lawyers in the county, and we always try our best to represent out clients interests.

She would look fantastic in a white tuxedo

Objection!!!

Also, there's a limit to how much you can make and still receive a public defender. I believe it's at the judges discretion in most cases.

whatbid we force private law firms to give donations to public defenders.

in this episode, adam said that in some states, jurors are paid as little as $4 an hour. I WISH! I was on a jury for 2 weeks, on a murder trial with 2 defendants with different charges and their own lawyers, and we got $12 a day. That's about $1.50 an hour, plus we had to pay $8 a day to park.

It took me nearly 6 hours to draft a lease agreement papers...and that by using a previously approved document as guidelines. How do you expect anyone to do anything in just 12 minutes?!

The dude in the blue suit was kinda feminine.

Wow... an actual wagegap. An ACTUAL one..

I don't get it. Are public defenders doing this low salary job because they're passionate about or they have no choice? Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't any good lawyer just start his own law firm?

To be fair, public employees make less than their counterparts in pretty much every other industry. Workloads ARE typically lighter, standards are laxer, and job security is beyond compare. People willingly sacrifice higher pay for all these benefits, not just out of the kindness of their hearts. The majority of cases that pass through most courts in the US are relatively minor; traffic tickets, parole violations, misdemeanors, etc. It's not surprising that so many of these cases get so little attention, considering that ~90% of criminal cases in the US don't even go to court (the defendant pleads guilty/no contest).

Adam Ruins Everything is like a snappy digital short version of Last Week Tonight.

how about make it mandatory for all lawyers to have to take an amount of free cases kind of like how citizens must partake in jury duty.

John Oliver beat you to it this time Adam.

For a criminal case, it is much easier to defend than it is in civil case as the jurors must declare that the defendant committed the crimes beyond REASONABLE DOUBT which is basically like a unanimous decision. If the state helped fund the defending side, we would be seeing a lot less defendants sentenced.

Life's hard and you suck at it. Stay home.

As someone working with environmental issues from the government, same story. We got the knowledge and laws to do things right, but no time to do them.

I don't know that prosecution and defense SHOULD have the same budget... I mean, think about it... They are not at all delivering the same product, nor do they have the same expenses.

Since I have been through the Justice System numerous times with a public defender, let me set this false video straight. Public Defenders work for the State, and will always try to get the minimum sentence possible, guilty. They will not try to get a not guilty plea. That's why it is screwed up. Truth 101.

Every goddamn video of this series I watch has stolen sound effects and music from The Sims games.

Makes me legitimately want to write software to help solve as many paperwork problems as possible for public defenders.

In the episode of Adam ruins guns, a defendant was given 20 years for killing her husband who was physically and mentally abusing her. Anyone who knows murder and voluntary manslaughter would have argued it's a classic case of loss of control which falls in the definition of voluntary manslaughter and based on first offence it could be 1-3 max(less if parole).As well it can even be reduced to self defence.

umm rhea butcher is really hot in this

What gender is it?

Public defender's and DA's are on the same team!!

I freaking love Rhea. That was an insanely smooth cut for getting Adam to the stand.

i know all this because John Oliver.

Like every 3rd comment on this thread... that public defender offends my idea of how women should look *TRIGGERED*