The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-07

name which properly fits this class
of attorneys. a Chicago lawyer
has referred to them as human
harpies;" one of the deputies in the
District Attorneys office called
them vampires" a report Of the
committee Of an Eastern bar as
sociation refers to lawyers Of this
class as legal vermin;" a writer in
Kansas City called them switch
lawyers" and the public in general
knows them as "systers.'
These lawyers made habit Of
keeping close watch. on the jail
and of Offering their services to
anyone who might be arrested
Prisoners without means, and gen
orally without friends, We're glad
to find someone with whom they
could talk over their cases. Very
often the accused were foreigners
and unable to talk sEnglisS, many
of them in Los Angeles being MeXl-
cans. not conversant with laws and
having no knowledge Of the relative
merits of attorneys. Interpreters
were quick to introduce themselves
to those unable to speak our Ian
guage, the object being to eN1oi the
alleged merits of some attorney
seeking to pick up the few cents
that the unfortunates might, have
upon their persons at the time OF
arrest.
If the prisoner had no money
he might serve the attorney by rec
ommending him to some other
prisoner who could pay a fee. These
attorneys were willing to accept
any fee, no matter how small,
promising to work diligently for
the accused, but in most cases fail
ing to render faithful services. One
case came to my attention IN
which an attorney offered to under
take the defense in murder case
for three dollars, the sum total OF
the prisoners resources. Often the
attorneys would have one interview
with the defendants and advise
them to plead guilty and apply Tor
probation. taking whatever means
they might have in return. Tae
turnkeys have told ne Of cases IN
which attorneys have obtained
prornisory notes in large amounts
from defendants. thereupon adyls-
ing them to plead guilty: Upon the
release of the accused on probation
they found themselves Wltnout
means and with the attorneys try
ing to enforce collection OF the
notes given for services never IN
fact rendered.
A common method for these
"harpies' to pursue was to seek in
teryiews with the prisoners, laudlng
their own alleged abilities as GRIM
inal lawyers and volunteering to
render services" without remua-
Grafton. Their next step was to
inform the accused that they would
require names Of intimate friends
and relatives for the purpose OF es-
tablishing good records to be taken
into consideration by the court. |
have known of cases where defend
ants have furnished such lists, with
instructions to the attorneys that
the lists were not to be used for
any other purpose and by all means
funds should not. be sought from
the; persons named therein: The
attorneys nevertheless. sent out
letters to the. addresses given. ask
ing contributions Of funds for their
fees. When the attorneys found
that no funds could be secured, or
if the funds obtained seemed IN
adequate, they withdrew from the
cases. advising the accused to Sc
cure the services Of the Public De-
fender. These attorneys were not
equipped, either in point Of integ-
rity or ability. to represent proper
ly the accused.
Shortly after our office was es-
-tablished. man was arrested ana
taken to the city Jail. Soon there
after he was removed to the county
iail but, his clothing and personal
effects still remained at the city
iail. He requested his lawyer. one
of the type just mentioned, to Sc
cure his clothing for him. Whe law
yer he,ped himself to the limited
wardrobe of the prisoner and ap-
peared at the county jail wearing
one of the prisoners shirts.
Serenity Per Cent. Plead Guilty.
The Public Defender has demon
strated that criminal cases can be
conducted upon purely ethical lines
with the sole purpose in view to
promote justice. Our office has
tried to keep uppermost the idea
that justice should be done, and
that even in criminal cases at
torneys should not try to get the
defendants "off" regardless OF the
merits. We have not asked for
unnecessary delays and have no:
resorted to technicalities. No mo-
ton has been presented which was
not necessary to protect the sub
stantial rights Of the accused. In
cases where there is no question
of the guilt of the accused. it is the
established rule Of the office that
no trial be held but that pleas OF
guilty be entered.
In cases where the services OF
expert witnesses are necessary, Il
80 ~ o,,c+oro of tho Dist rict At