other county in south carolina. the south carolina public defender system is symptomatic of an overall, grossly underfunded legal system. how are you? when you have 700 people in jail and 20 lawyers to deal with that 700, the odds are stacked against you. what s going on is that the lawyers are in court all the time. as a result, the ability to get over and actually have that face time is just very scant. this is something that you re going to have to do yourself. 150, 160 is about average for our office. many times, the smaller charges take just as much time as the larger charges. that s very difficult, trying to balance all of their needs. the personal contact with an attorney is less important than it was 20 years ago. sheriff cannon, an attorney himself, says public defenders have access to their clients through phones and video conferencing and their long
game. the victim was left in a coma. he suffered brain damage. i always expect the best but prepare for the worst, you know. because i know that is my reality. i could end up in prison. smalls faces up to 20 years if found guilty. he admits to injuring the man and has pled not guilty in hopes of reaching a plea deal for a shorter sentence, but says the odds are stacked against him because he is represented by a public defender. i m putting my life in the hands of a public pretender. my representation is, i feel, minimum. very minimum. i come in this jail and talk to 150 other guys who got the same lawyer. so, how much time does she even have to put in on my case or, for that matter, anybody else s? i talk to clients every day who are extremely frustrated, and i can t say that their concerns are not perfectly legitimate. they are. attorney ashley pennington oversees the public defender s office for charleston and one
oversees the public defender s office for charleston and one other county in south carolina. the south carolina public defender system is symptomatic of an overall, grossly underfunded legal system. how are you? when you have 700 people in jail and 20 lawyers to deal with that 700, the odds are stacked against you. what s going on is that the lawyers are in court all the time. as a result, the ability to get over and actually have that face time is just very scant. this is something that you re going to have to do yourself. 150, 160 is about average for our office. many times, the smaller charges take just as much time as the larger charges. that s very difficult, trying to balance all of their needs. the personal contact with an attorney is less important than it was 20 years ago. sheriff cannon, an attorney himself, says public defenders have access to their clients through phones and video
punching a man during a pool game. the victim was left in a coma. he suffered brain damage. i always expect the best but prepare for the worst, you know. because i know that is my reality. i could end up in prison. smalls faces up to 20 years if found guilty. he admits to injuring the man and has pled not guilty in hopes of reaching a plea deal for a shorter sentence, but says the odds are stacked against him because he is represented by a public defender. i m putting my life in the hands of a public pretender. my representation is, i feel, minimum. very minimum. i come in this jail and talk to 150 other guys who got the same lawyer. so, how much time does she even have to put in on my case or, for that matter, anybody else s? i talk to clients every day who are extremely frustrated, and i can t say that their concerns are not perfectly legitimate. they are. attorney ashley pennington
attorney ashley pennington oversees the public defender s office for charleston and one other county in south carolina. it s symptomatic of an overall, grossly underfunded legal system. how are you? when you have 700 people in jail and 20 lawyers to deal with that 700, the odds are stacked against you. what s going on is that the lawyers are in court all the time. as a result, the ability to get over and actually have that face time is just very scant. this is something that you re going to have to do yourself. 150, 160 is about average for our office. many times, the smaller charges take just as much time as the larger charges. that s very difficult, trying to balance all of their needs. the personal contact with an attorney is less important than it was 20 years ago. sheriff cannon, an attorney himself, says public defenders have access to their clients through phone and video conference and their long hours