They have to please the judge or they won't be appointed again. You can't be the kind of advocate you need to be. Graham's case is usually Exhibit A in the argument for another system of capital representation. His attorney, Ron Mock, was chastised repeatedly for making a token effort. If that is true, he has plenty of company, said Welch, who has scoured dozens of trial transcripts over the years while preparing appeals.
Judges come from the prosecutor's office.
Their idea of what is a vigorous defense is colored by a prosecutor's perspective. Perhaps the city's best-known criminal defense attorney, Mike Ramsey, is equally critical, though he does not lay the blame directly at the judges' feet. There's not enough money in capital defense work to attract many good lawyers. Ramsey does not take capital appointments. Neither do the biggest names in criminal defense.