THREAD: Day in the Life of a Public Defender during COVID: currently in court for violation of probation hearings. Agents have violated clients for failure to complete community service or attend classes that were shut down during the pandemic. There are 21 people in court. (1/?)

The County Executive Order prohibits indoor gatherings of more than 10 people. (2/?)

10am docket - 6 cases, about 22 people in court. Almost all theft cases from multi-billion dollar companies where the items were immediately returned (3/?)

11am docket - this was a slow one. Only 3 cases and 10 people in the courtroom (?/4)

We have 5 dockets a day, scheduled every hour. We are expected to resolve our 3-6 cases in that hour from preliminary matters to pleas to trials (?/5)

I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve come in contact with. Certainly more than I’m comfortable with but in the words of @JennyPAndrews this is just another day of being essential/sacrificial (?/6)

One good thing - I was finally apply to find N95s to help me feel a little safer in court. I recommend H PPE supply https://honestppe.supply/  for all you PDs out there who need protection (?/7)

Heading up for the 1:30 docket. 19 people in the courtroom. Almost all the cases are alleged thefts from WalMart who aggressively prosecuted theft even when the items never make it out of the store. Don’t shop at Wal-Mart (?/8)

2:30 docket was just two cases. Very easy (?/9)

At the end of the docket, the judge told the state that he was doing a good job. Nothing for defense counsel. I don’t expect it and I don’t want it but this idea of impartial judges is a lie. Most of the time they are second-chairing for the state (?/10)

The docket is done for the day. By my count, I’ve been talking to and/or in close proximity to at least 72 people. I’m a vector for COVID and I’m exposing my fiancé to this illness every single day. I have no idea when I’ll be able to safely visit my family again. (?/11)

All so the State can continue to prosecute misdemeanor cases. I assume I’ve been in contact with someone exposed to COVID today but I have no way of knowing this for sure (?/12)

The continued prosecution of misdemeanors and asking for jail on any misdemeanor cases is cruel, particularly given the outbreak at the jail with 29 known cases of COVID as of yesterday. (?/13)

I know that the State’s Attorneys knows about my account and ASAs occasionally look at my tweets. I debated going private before doing this but the general public needs to know what is happening in courtrooms across the country on a daily basis during a deadly pandemic (?/14)

Everyday I am in court, I am proud of my work and I have no problem tweeting about my representations. My only loyalty is to my clients. (?/15)

No one is protecting us. We are being sent in to deal with hundreds of cases a month when COVID is growing exponentially. My clients are being forced to expose themselves and their families to a deadly illness when many of them don’t even have health insurance (?/16)

My own personal mental well-being is at the worst it’s been in years. I am scared, i am anxious and the moral injury I am feeling is off the charts. (?/17)

I don’t have some grand finale to this except to say that the courts will always find new ways to exact cruelty on the most vulnerable members of our society. Abolish the police. Abolish the courts. (18/18)