Today, I helped someone that I didn't have to, that wasn't my client, it's just that she needed help. Maybe that's why I got into this business in the first place.
This lady shows up in our office, all in a flummox. She had a warrant from 2002 on a case that should have been dismissed in 2000 and was pending extradition from Arizona (where she now resides) on that warrant. So, in a nutshell, she needed the warrant from 2002 got rid of so she doesn't have to sit in jail in Arizona waiting for New Mexico to come get her when she was here in New Mexico to try to get the matter (that she had no idea was still around) resolved.
So, I spent this afternoon calling the court here, calling the court in Arizona, calling the sheriff's office in Arizona, driving her to the court here, arguing with the judge here, and faxing an Order Quashing Warrant back and forth to everyone, all to get this poor lady out of having to sit in an Arizona jail for 30 days. In the end, the judge here quashed the warrant, the Sheriff's Deputy (a very helpful woman!) promised to dismiss her extradition case in Arizona and get her off the Arizona judge's court list for tomorrow, and she won't have to go to jail either here or in Arizona.
This makes me feel good. She wasn't my client, but I helped her anyway. I fixed her problem. She was so appreciative she almost cried. And she was trying so hard to do the right thing. Maybe this is why I do this after all.
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4 comments:
"Justice, justice, thou shalt pursue" - - isn't that why all of us do this? Good job!
Good job. I'm with you - helping folks is exactly why I became a public defender. Every once in a while I get too focused in on my clients and forget that there's tons of other people to help out there. Going out of your way every once in a while is worth it in the end. Good karma.
I just found your blog (thru Injustice Anywhere) and I've added you to my blogroll. If you have a chance, come check me out:
http://thewretchedoftheearth.blogspot.com
You are all right. I do this for justice. True justice, not punishment. And I do this to help people, primarily by trying to ensure that those no one wants to think about have justice in the midst of this often unjust system.
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