As a Public Defender, my life is miserable. I feel awful seeing my clients not get the representation they deserve. There's nothing more I can do because I have so many cases. I'm paid pennies for six-figure work. I'm proud that I am helping the defenseless, but I"m not sure how much longer I can do this.
+EmisoraRadioPatio You have to strike a difficult balance between doing good and being "miserable." I don't think anyone should expect you to sacrifice your life (and probably part of the lives of those close to you) with just a inadequate salary and a somewhat cynical congratulations in return. I think you should be paid what you are truly worth, and would also give you credit for moving on when you must.
Motivate those lawyers around you to eventually take your place when you've done your share of this work. Tell them this story you've given here. I think it's heartbreaking*/motivational enough
+EmisoraRadioPatio Amen to that - I am a public defender in Pennsylvania. It is overwhelming sometimes. I am paid hourly and work far more than the 35 hours I get paid for. But it can certainly be rewarding sometimes.
I pled guilty to a crime I didn't commit because my PD refused any other course. He is now in prison in MI for hiring a hitman to kill another lawyer. He scheduled my hearing in a middle school auditorium full of kids, parents and teachers. I was accused of buying beer for minors, which I had not done. He he said "I am not going to defend you on THAT charge in front of THIS audience. The only way to avoid jail is to plead guilty. " He could have had the hearing in a court room but chose the school because he was running for prosecutor. A farce, that's on my record forever. Thanks for talking about this issue.
Konig Corvus sounds like you should get a real lawyer and now and fight your charge... sounds like your constitutional rights were infringed upon... assuming your not lying or exaggerating
Hiring a pricey or private lawyer doesn't always work, Bob.... lawyers aren't going to go out on a limb and piss off district attorneys. Do you know why? Because district attorneys will then only offer shitty plea bargains for a lawyer's clients. The lawyer will get a reputation for not getting clients "good results." Thus, lawyers are going to do what is in their best interests FIRST -- even if it means throwing a client under a bus by pressuring them to take a plea. Besides, I know plenty of people that have hired lawyers that cost them a pretty penny and the lawyers would actually get pissed off for having to put some effort into cases. Never mind that they charged thousands for a plem. hearing upfront. They have a quick initial meeting of half an hour... charge thousands then maybe give your a quick couple of 5 minute phone calls before the hearing. Ask you to show up 10 to 15 minutes before the hearing to go over stuff. That's the effort for thousands of dollars. The system is corrupt, terrible, etc.
Konig Corvus That's disgusting. Will they not erase that from your record, given what he did? The guy practically had "Corrupt" tattooed on his forehead. I'm sorry you went through that, either way. I don't know what I'd do in such a situation.
"of course it was florida, how could it not be florida?!" as someone who's spent most of their life in florida, i'd just naturally assumed that's where the fight happened, but it's nice to have some confirmation.
+Starving Boy In Africa Sadly, they are voted into power by collective idiocy. And what makes it worse, they can't be fired, they have to be impeached when it concerns governmental appointed positions, despite they are obviously doing something not only illegal, but obviously disgraceful and un-Constitutional. And it sounds like that judge physically assaulted that Public Defender, so if that judge was not brought up on charges, I am baffled.
Someone (that I know) stole my I.D. a few years back and then got busted with marijuana possession in Westminster Colorado. When the cops picked him up, he used my I.D. got ticketed in my name and released. Then when no one showed up to the court date a warrant was put out for my arrest. I spent 2 weeks in jail, went before a judge, and got a public defender. The public defender did everything he could to try and convince me to take a plea deal. When I told the public defender that it wasn't me, he started telling me stuff like "look, if you take a plea deal, I can probably get you released today. You'll serve 1 month incarcerated at the most." I told him again it wasn't me, he responded, "If you fight this, you're looking at up to 2 years. Do you want to spend 2 years in jail?" I told him again it wasn't me, but at that point I was so scared of doing 2 years in jail, I almost took the plea. I was shaking and so afraid that if there was any kind of mixup or if anything went wrong I would be locked up for 2 years for something I didn't do. I was afraid, but I told him again, "look man! It wasn't me. I wasn't there. Someone stole my identity!" and he said "Well, ok, if this is how you want to proceed then..." and had an attitude like "your funeral kid". He walked up to the judge, they opened up the case file, and right there on the front page was the mugshot of the person they had charged. OBVIOUSLY being not fucking me, they dropped the charges then and there on the spot and I was released within 24 hours. This happened to me in Westminster Colorado in about 2007. Out of everything that had happened, to this day, I will never forget how hard that public defender was pushing and trying to scare me into pleading guilty. So much so that I almost pleaded guilty to a crime that I KNEW I hadn't committed because I was afraid of going to jail for 2 years.
Any attorney regardless if they are a PD or private attorney has to communicate any plea offer and has to advise you of the potential maximum penalty that could be imposed after a potential conviction following trial. To not do so would be to render ineffective assistance of counsel. After receiving this information it up to the Defendant as how to proceed whether by trial or guilty plea. No attorney or Judge can force a person to plead guilty. The attorney is allowed to render an opinion on the likely hood of success at trial based upon their experience but the client does not have to accept that advice and can simply state they want the case listed for a jury trial date.
@@michaeldaly322 I guess you'd have to be there to truly understand how much he was trying to sway me into pleading guilty. It wasn't a matter of the information I was being given, it was a matter of the pressure he was putting on me to plead guilty, and the approach he was taking to scare me into doing it.
@@TenthElementGraphics True. That's fucked up. At the end of the day it should be your decision no matter what. After all, it's your life on the line. Theyre not doing the time.
@@michaeldaly322 basically, he was supposed to be defending me. and his whole attitude was like "c'mon. plead guilty. do it. plead guilty. I swear you'll regret it if you don't. I'm tellin ya kid. Plead guilty, don't make this any bigger of a mess than it already is." when I told him I wasn't even there he seemed annoyed, like I was making a horrible decision despite the direction he was trying to point me in. I swear, it seems like most "public defenders" make a living of just going in everyday and saying "you should take the plea bargain."
@@TenthElementGraphics I know this post is old but I'm going thru something similar but with a paid lawyer. I had my house searched illegally and I'm asking him to file a motion to suppress. He's like "no, because..." and then his billion excuses and I'm like but the officer searched me illegally "yeah, but you see" so I fired him !!!! He wanted me to plea instead of filing a motion to suppress. Wtf!
The judge was a retired us army reserve colonel who was part of special operations in Iraq and received the both the bronze star and several other medals so the odds where stacked against the attorney. As well the supreme court did overrule the previous court order and fired him and he is currently attending a mental health and anger management program for dealing PTSD he had been dealing with previously and currently.
My son got lucky... he had to get a PD to defend against his now ex-wife's bogus charges. The DA had added a couple of felony charges and his PD was a freaking SHARK. He decimated the ADAs in his case and made his ex look like a fool idiot when she was on the stand. His PD got all of the charges but one summary offense dropped. It was awesome!
Before I even watch this, I already know how fucked up the public defender situation is in this country. Even still, I expect a few horrifying surprises. Please don't stop doing good work, Mr. Oliver.
+Matt Goodwin I always knew there were serious systemic issues in America....but ever since Oliver started doing these long segments, I've come to the realization that quite literally *_everything_* we do is unintelligent unethical backwards and the polar opposite of an actual solution. It's honestly shocking just how broken _everything_ is. We get everything wrong...in every way possible. It's absolutely ridiculous how systemically fucked everything is. And he hasn't even done a segment on the Drug War yet....
+avedic Where Bolivia which solved 60% of it's drug problem by throwing out the US based DEA and handling it by itself, now is being investigated by DEA which in it's own turf solved 0% of it's drug problems but solved 100% of the slave labor shortage problem which some of the most influential intellectuals today consider it's main reason for being created. Go figure...
I live in one of those overworked counties, and am an attorney who does pro-bono criminal work. I've seen some pretty shitty stuff done by the PD's. I'll give one example: a girl was arrested for a DUI. She blew a .05. BUT, she blew a .05 on her 11th (ELEVENTH) time blowing into the machine. The public defender pleaded her guilty even though the DA said he was going to drop the case. I can't even get mad at the PD's office, because as John says, 40% of the PD's offices don't have investigators. You know who DOES have investigators? The DA"s office. You know who you never hear about having funding issues or staffing issues? DA's office. The system is astronomically stacked.
Damn, I just watched The Night of and I thought that was fiction! I thought "Surely even if they know he's not the murderer, they won't charge him with murder just because he's easier to persecute."
I’m an ignoramus so could you explain the significance of her blowing a 0.5 on her 11th time? What does 11 have to do with anything? Why does it matter?
+Mark Schofield More republicans believe Ted Cruz was born in the US than Obama. Maybe there is a way to trick people. His accent isn't that thick. Could pass for Southern maybe.
Holy crap, never knew some states charged for a public defender who "will be appointed to you free of cost". Don't know how people can say the system is perfect
New Jersey is one of those states. I needed one a few years back, $75 for a "court appointed p.d." . Fuck this broken ass system, it's all about money, not justice
People, this is why it's also important to vote for your senators, local law makers, etc. These are issues that can be changed, if enough people petition their lawmakers and submit bills for review. Laws don't just pop out of thin air, and their ever-changing, so go vote for your legislators on Tuesday, and make SURE they support your causes.
@david lynn Okay, then what's your proposed alternative? I'll be the first to say that American democracy is the worst system, there are better ones like proportional or ranked voting.
@@brandondavidson4085 The rest of the world don't elect prosecutors and judges and probably do a slightly better job at giving poor people a fair trial. Unfortunately most Americans say "that wouldn't work here".
While voting is important, the statutes in question are based on state and the Federal Constitution, or case law thereof. Politicians cannot change that. They could allocate more funding, in this particular case, but you would have to have very substantial numbers of voters on board to get that, particularly in the nearly bankrupt blue state local governments.
@@jdsmith542 Politicians absolutely CAN change the law, that's their job. And weird of you to bring up the voting is good but also voting makes your local government bankrupt only when it's Democrats?
@@brandondavidson4085 They cannot change the mechanics of the system; as I pointed out, those are set in constitutional frameworks and cannot be changed except by special ballot items for state constitutions, and by affirmative majority votes in 33 or more states for the Federal. As to the bankruptcy, I don’t know where your confusion comes from. The economic state of California and Rust Belt cities is well-reported.
+Phantomhive *Conservative voice* "Poor people are in their position because of entitlement. They don't want to work so they assume they can mooch off the government and be lazy. If they worked half as hard as I do, and were perfectly fine working 3 jobs to scrounge a living together, they'd have nothing to complain about." *Brought to you by*: Can't-those-peasants-shut-up-already?
+Phantomhive A lot of places try their hardest to make being poor or homeless as illegal as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an actual law in a city or state that is blatant about it by going "it's illegal to be homeless". Most places try to be more 'sneaky' about it by anti-loitering laws, among other stuff.
For people who champion science and frequently cite it as evidence of global warming, you guys can be pretty dense about what's in front of you. If you apply your scientific principles to this observation, you'd conclude that debtor's prison is just a law of the universe. Why fight it?
No Burton, it's not a law of the universe. It's an effect of human action, much like the aforementioned Global Warming. And we fight it for the same reasons we fight Global Warming, because indifference to what is wrong in the world will only lead to what is wrong growing strong, spreading wider, and becoming more accepted as normal. It won't be the downfall of civilisation, it'll be much worse. Civilization will become evil.
I'f you guys agree it is Florida. I'm starting something to change that because it happened to me let's keep track of each other. My website is not open yet. But I'll have a TH-cam page to.
I worked as a "panel attorney" in a jurisdiction with no public defender and then became a federal defender. One problem that you don't raise in this segment is that District Attorneys and US Attorneys overcharge in order to have ammunition to gain an advantage in plea negotiations. For example, a case that is basically a conspiracy to sell marijuana will be "upgraded" to include money laundering charges for every time the defendant sent a check or money order to his family. Any crime the DA or US Atty can think of will be charged and by the time you see your client, 90% of them have already confessed to committing the crime. I never urged anyone to plead who told me they were innocent, or had given a false confession. (It happens). I agree that these systems are pitifully underfunded and under-resourced, but that's just one part of the whole problem. Thank you for bringing these issues to focus.
As a second year law student right now, John Oliver is spot on. While the legal community is almost unanimous in wanting more public workers, the fact is that there is no money in public defense and the attorneys can barely sustain themselves - let alone pay law school loans. My dad is a public defender and the government is 3 months behind paying him...But few governments will ever allocate more money for "those struggling/overworked lawyers".
+talesin- god of the internet Good luck with that. With all the federal and local statutes on the books, you're probably committing a crime right now without even knowing it. Ignorance of the law is no excuse though, thankfully, right?
I’m so thankful John Oliver and his crew at HBO produce these, because more people need to know about these problems. It’s also heartbreaking to learn there is yet another problem I can’t fix, and that most people do not care about-and most assuredly don’t want to know about.
KORREKT. My family was comfortable and middle-class like yours just a decade or so ago. Then my employer of 25 years began "accelerating attrition." Laid off. My discretionary income declined steadily. Now we rely on a local food bank and charities for many of groceries and clothed. I'm not alone and I don't see that things will get better. Prepare yourselves.
And the worst part is that those budget cuts are usually made to accommodate tax breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy. It's like a reverse Robinhood.
How am I supposed to go another week without your show, John? And just how many holidays do you need to take? The world needs you John!!! You're show should be Monday to Friday, two hours a night! That should be your life, John! That should be your life!
The United States is a horrible place to live if you're poor. The judicial system that is supposed to serve the public isn't even working. What kind of freedom is this?
Ian Stevenson I just ignored him. Clearly he has no idea how or what with developed European countries. Plus i have no idea what he means with "horrible" Horrible could mean not having the brand stuff and perhaps a small house with 2-3 bedrooms that isnt near the city center and not the fastest internet and possible having to go to the food bank weekly to make sure you have enough food to even trow some out. (Dutch poor)
+Ignacio Salas The hilarity of a Aussie calling anyone or anything racist. And the more you keep saying, "Europe is..." the more you proof you know nothing.
It's truly sad just how true this story is! I knew that there was information in a statement that a witness supposedly said, but that I knew for a fact that she NEVER said. I told my public pretender this fact, and he STILL refused to call her, or anybody else, whereas, had he called her, he would have found out that the entire statement was fabricated by either the cop, or prosecutor that typed it up. He refused to contact or speak with any witnesses. The only 2 people that he was interested in contacting were the district attorney to get a new plea bargain, and me to try and sell me on how good the current offer was. THEN, my attorney was too good to come to a hearing, so he sent an underling to my hearing. At that hearing, the district attorney offered an even better deal than my attorney had tried selling me on, which was a DPA (deferred prosecution agreement), that I was willing to accept, and MY "lawyer" said no, that I couldn't accept that deal, because she already had the paperwork filled out for the worse deal that she told me (and this is absolutely no joke), "You either accept this deal, or you will be found guilty, and go to jail," even though she knew next to nothing about my actual case. That was when we proceeded into the courtroom, where the district attorney offered me the better deal (the DPA), and I said I would accept that deal, and MY public pretender actually said no, I could not accept that deal, because she already had the paperwork filled out for the much worse deal, to which I responded, "Then, redo the paperwork," to which she simply said, "No!" A friend of mine was in the hospital, and her husband at the time couldn't be bothered to get his kids off to school for 3 straight days, and SHE got charged with child neglect, because she should have been able to stop him from being so lazy. She was charged with child neglect, and her public pretender demanded that she take a plea deal, even though she found out later that because she was physically unable to care for herself with the debilitating illness she had (MRSA that had progressed to the point that the hospital told her that if she didn't get to the hospital within the next 48 hours, she would be dead), she could not legally be held responsible for caring for her children. Unfortunately, the public pretender that was assigned to her case wasn't willing to make that same argument, but instead, just wanted her to plea to something, to close that case and move onto the next.
This doesn't end with public defenders. The police know that this is the case. They know there is a pretty big chance they can get away with arresting innocent people.
+John McVay I think it goes both ways with the police. Either they're corrupt (or just assholes), and they charge innocent people/or those with low level crimes, or they're not corrupt (and genuinely trying to protect the public) and are forced to look the other way most of the time, by not arresting people who are blatantly not following the law. Which really only means that in the end, that the public is more at risk.
Another awesome thing the courts love to do is make you show up multiple times over the course of a year, and each time you show up legit all they do is give you a piece of paper that tells you the next time you have to show up to court. And the court I went to charges you $340.00 for every court appearance alone.
+Vern Emcee Also I spent 14 days in jail for not having $400 bucks to pay for a chemical dependency evaluation. for charges that had nothing to do with drugs in the first place. Afterwards I ended up taking the evaluation and all it actually was, was a dude asking me if i feel the need to drink and smoke, i said no, he said i passed, i handed him all my money in my wallet.
+Vern Emcee Man, if I was in your situation and he asked I felt the need to drink and smoke I'd say "after dealing with the shit justice system in this city, yes I feel the need to drink and smoke heavily."
Also when I got out of jail I was homeless because they "deemed me a physical threat" for non violent charges, and said if i lived at my house they would take my sisters away because they are minors. So they took my phone, all my money, and then when i got let out i didn't have a home to go to. I could talk for hours about stories like these.
In regards to the original post, just bring up jury nullification when they ask you if you will only make decisions based solely on the law. They won't put you in then. Google it :D
I have actually lived through this. In 2006, i was arrested for crimes i did not commit. I was stuck in a brutal jail until i took a plea deal for probation. I was later arrested three more times. On my last court appearance, my new public defender, Mike Wink, had to recuse himself because he was my original prosecuting attorney
+Queen Chrysalis sorry touchscreen, the comment was ment for the one next to your, by the time I saw, too late, with this phone I don't know how to delete comment, you'll excuse ;)
"of course it was Florida, how could it not be Florida!?!?" Had me rolling the first time I watched this episode, I just watched it again now.. It's even funnier than the first time.
The energy in these earlier episodes is so much less chaotic than the most recent ones. Its like as time went on John gained more confidence to unleash the chaos.
Seeing Larry’s story again made me cry again. Life hasn’t always been easy, but I can’t imagine how terrifying his has been while he’s struggling with a health condition and they just batter him. I hope he’s doing okay; but knowing how things are out here, I’d be really surprised if things turned out well. It’s so effed up that it’s only through donations that anything good ever happens
+Dreigonix Working 2000 cases a year b/c he can't do this shit alone! In other words, he's one more year from becoming Phoenix Wright to Phoenix Wrong.
@@Mehwhatevr Bullshit excuse. I have been with people who had PTSD from war and they do not suddenly challenge people to a fight when they don't get what they want
@@happyfacefries Woah hoh, just to be clear I’m not making excuses for him. I’m just saying what happened and what his excuse was. If he’s unstable he shouldn’t be on the bench. I honestly don’t know the full story. I was rooting for the latter and was sad he lost, but the stories I read seem to say there might be more to the story and the public defender might have had it coming... I honestly don’t know and am only judging that this was completely inappropriate. The judge should have handled it better even if the latter deserved it
@@Mehwhatevr Definitely inappropriate, but “mutual combat” is lawful in Florida. Besides that, the point of this segment is truly sickening. So sad many Americans are just finding this out.
+Garrick Groover and that's the next step, get rid of private prisons. When they are private then incentive is to get more prisoners because you're paid by the head, when they are government the incentive is to have less because the pay comes out of pocket.
+Scorpia161 like really, i can hunt bugs, fight judges in hallways, and address systematic inequality from the front lines. too bad i hate college and don't want to pay for law school.
+dcoetzee I know a couple of people who started to study law out of very idealistic principles. One of them told me that literally the first thing they heard during the welcome lecture was "Welcome! No one of you will make the world a better place, but, if you make smart choices, there is a lot of money ahead of you." Everyone in this profession whom I know has a story like that to tell. If you are wondering why the system is that corrupt, sit in on a couple of law lectures if you get the chance. I did some courses in media law both undergrad and grad and was honestly horrified. Law is unscientific as fuck (pardon my french), it doesn't care about reason or rationality and holds as close as possible to rules so vaguely formulated, that three different courts in the same country can reach three different results (as it happens often in Germany) and you really have to get the right court for your case. For example, almost all cases for media piracy are done in Hamburg, because the court there is known for its draconic stance on the issue. If you get sued for the same thing in front of any other court, you are MUCH more likely to get off easy, especially as a first time offender. But not in Hamburg, oh no... The system couldn't be more arbitrary if it tried. So as a law student, you have to somehow hold up your principles while being confronted with a system that often appears like Lewis Carroll came up with it, sometimes bordering on insanity, sometimes being outright insane. Or you surrender, accept that 2+2 can equal 5 if the circumstances demand it, forget about principles and ethics and all that abstract hippy nonsense and not only does your by then chronic headache recede, your pockets also start to fill up quickly.
+k3nny111 i understand your frustration and I must admit that I'm not familiar with the civil law system; so I can't adequately respond to your claim about different courts reach different opinions in Germany. However, in the common law system, there is this doctrine called stare decisis where cases which were decided in the higher courts are binding on the lower courts. That's why you have to do research on case law when making your arguments. Otherwise, it would just be like charming the judge into deciding the case for you, in which case, you really don't need to go to lawschool and destroy your youth to be a lawyer. Anyway, as a soon-to-be lawyer in a common law country, i just wanna respond to your claims abt law being unscientific and vague. The law is expected to be predictable; and hence the rules have to be relatively fixed. But every case is factually different, to whatever extent. So how do you construct legal rules which are able to deal with different and evolving factual issues while remaining relatively unchanged? You need flexibility and hence some degree of vagueness in your legal rules! Remember, it's about striking a fine balance here. There is a great deal of complex legal theories on this; you can check it out if you're interested. P/S: you might discredit me for the fact that lawyers rejoice in the ambiguity of the law and hence my argument is biased. But it's the truth LOL
Hoang Trang I appreciate your response. In Germany, there is no case law. Two identical charges put in front of two different judges can be decided differently (and often are). Only decisions done by the "Bundesverfassungsgericht" (closes thing to your Supreme Court) have weight outside of their inidivual case. But even those aren't binding; other courts just recognize them out of convenience. If a smaller court ignores a decision of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, then the plaintiff or defendant, whoever is unhappy with the outcome, can just go up through the various courts until reaching the Bundesverfassungsgericht, which itself is very consistent in its interpretation of the law. However, this level of security only exists if the Bundersverfassungsgericht already decided on an issue. For every other case, you'd be rolling the dice going up that high, and a very expensive dice at that. So the vast majority of cases is, obviously, decided by lower courts and you honestly just have to get lucky which court you end up in. It's the same with my example in Hamburg: their court is extremely friendly to plaintiffs who sue because of digital piracy and copyright infringement. So everyone going to court over this, no matter where he lives or his company is based, immediately sues in Hamburg. The handfull of cases in front of other courts on the same issue have VASTLY different outcomes. We had an example of two nearly identical charges for illegal distribution of music via torrent by minors, where in Hamburg the parents were charged with a six figure penalty, while another court on the same level, just in a different city, ruled that the parents can't be held responsible for this, as long as they told their kids not to do any illegal sharing/downloading. This is not predictable at all. Another issue which really crushed me was in Urheberrecht (our equivalent to copyright law). One of the main questions in german Urheberrecht is whether or not something is a "Werk" (there is no perfect translation, closest thing would be "creation"). A "Werk" needs to have "Schaffenshöhe", which means a level of quality that qualifies it for protection under Urheberrecht. What exactly gives "Schaffenshöhe" to a "Werk" is nowhere clearly defined, so whenever the issue comes up you have lawyers argue out whether or not something basically is ART. It is completely ridiculous. I've read court decisions where it went on for multiple paragraphs over the quality of brush strokes and color palette, or whether or not the artistic capturing of natural light is itself an artistic act. I understand that law has to be formulated vaguely for flexibility, but without case law, there is almost no predictibility. Of US law I know very little, so maybe your system is a little bit more sane. (Never thought I ever write that under one of Johns lovely videos.) My academic training was both in art and science and when I discovered what goes for "Rechtswissenschaft" (Science of law) in Germany, my mind was blown. Of course, maybe other countries have systems which do actually make sense.
Got a bike light violation recently for not riding with a light on my bike at night. Heres the bill break down;STATE COSTS: $35COURT COST: $20COURT TECH: $10COP TRAINING: $10PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE: $10 (didn't use a public defender still had to pay)DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION: $10 (not sure why Im paying that)and because I talked with the city prosecutor they tacked on an additional $20 for 1 min of talking bringing my total bill to:$115 for not riding with a bike light at night.... Merica the best country in the world.
+John Smith What's your point? Someone who is poor could actually wind up in jail for a month for not having the money to pay those small fines.. Which then add up to huge fines. John Oliver has done plenty on this subject; were you sleeping? Is that the god damn goal, month long Jail for something trivial, while murderous drivers with money get out instantly and get off with nothing, because they got a hot shit lawyer with loads of time. Like those.
+Keira Desbiens You judged him, which is bad enough, without first making sure you understood him correctly. His question could in fact be a sarcastic jab at the system, implying they're so corrupt they could have fined him for something he didn't do. Edit: never mind, you understood him correctly.
8:02 As of 2016, he is no longer a judge: “It is without question that except for the June 2, 2014, incident, Judge Murphy had been a good judge. Notwithstanding his prior judicial performance, Judge Murphy’s total lack of self-control became a national spectacle - an embarrassment not only to the judge himself but also to Florida’s judicial system. Given the clear erosion of public confidence in the judiciary caused by his misconduct, removal is an appropriate sanction.”
A public defender tried to get me to plea to driving without a license when my origional ticket was for driving on a suspended license. Long story short, my license shouldnt have been suspended in the first place, and thankfully the DA dropped the charge.
*It's not News* interesting sure and we get taught how things were supposed to work. The fact is *it's been broken since a long time.* So not really news.
I have predicted this coming for a long time. Which is why i always knew i was right for becoming a Lawyer. My only issue is after the Bar Exam, the only way you will justifiably pay off the Student Debt is to go into County Prosecution. Even just to get a Name for myself, I have been advised to go Prosecution first to make my Money, Then move to Public Defending... Kinda the wrong idea i had in mind but unfortunately, it is the System we built for our selves...
I'm in the same boat. I'm in my twenties now and will likely be in my late thirties by the time I actually do what I wanted to do with my degree. It's a sad state of affairs :/
The govt should take away the millions of dollars in tax refunds and loop holes from the top 1 percent and put that money towards the people in this country who really need it.
jack li Because the power is in the congress. They pass the bills. If congress is not on your side then your policies are useless. Same thing happened to Obama.
+harpreetlidder1 dude, do u even know how our congress work? Why do we even need a president if all the power is in the hand of congress? It is true congress do have lots power SO is our president. There are certain thing he can do and things he need the approval of the congress. By claiming" oh I can't do anything because of congress" is pure bullshit.
harpreetlidder1 That's why Obama has had to resort to using executive order's to pass bills congress refuses to work with him on/ allow. Most "Washington insiders" will throw every American under the bus to allow them to maintain their lifestyles and tax breaks. Congress is basically the Unites States' 1800 royal family. They live a life of wealth & privilege on the backs of hard working overly taxed Americans.
+Kel-chan Yeah, then you can just fight for your freedom. And if you can't fight yourself, you always have the right to a champion, and those are free!
Got billed for the public defender AND the cost of keeping me in jail for the three days up to the hearing in MN, can confirm. Had absolutely no income, but was expected to pay 100$ for being incarcerated, 128$ for the "if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you" and was expected to pay 500$ bail to not sit in jail for the next few months until ANOTHER hearing was scheduled for the plea bargain.
I am the widower of a career public defender. In 28 years, I never heard any stories about how the police officers are your friends. I did hear plenty of stories about how prosecutors play fast and loose with facts and procedures.
fired? for criminal assault of a public defender in court? as the judge? thats not just something that should disbarr them it should land them in prison
@@wonderbread7327 im pretty sure streetfights are still illegal nevermind that he is basically blackmailing the attorney into the fight that judge is a criminal
He was eventually fired in december last year for that incident. But it took the florida supreme court overturning the florida judicial qualificaions comission ruling to get to that decision. They tried giving him a fine/suspension/anger management initially, but the video evidence is too damning. The public defender in that fight even resigned in protest over their decision to keep him on the bench. The fact it took this much time and effort to serve justice for what should have been a straight forward case is really screwed up. Cant help but wonder if John Oliver's video had any influence on the final decision...
+Matt Hebbard That's ridiculous, but I feel a fair bit better knowing he suffered the consequences eventually. That prosecutor deserves reparations, but I wonder how many other times this has happened undocumented. What was his name? I'd love to read up on it
+They Told Me I Could Become Anything, So I became an Eggplant You know the reason we see so many crazy headlines from Florida is because police arrests and reports are public record.
No, Florida just has a law where all criminal and civil records have to be made public after conviction, and the media seems to pick the funniest ones.
Bozo Clown I just don't understand where you are going with the argument. America has corruption, obviously. But a much smaller amount than almost any other country in the world. Are you saying that because it exists it's on the same level as other corruption? Because that is demonstratively false.
So, the rest of the world has it better than the people of the US? That all those countries songs have been lying to me? . . . . Why am I not surprised?
Every time I even think about our judicial system my blood starts boiling. From law enforcement to courtrooms to prisons, everything is a complete disaster and a disgrace.
I'd argue that major social issues, destroyed lives and brutal scandals aren't exactly boring. Exhausting or complicated might work here. Boring is what I'd call my list of favourite chocolates and the process of watching me think about them.
How is going through a list of basically everything a country is supposed to mean and represent and finding out each and every item on that list is fucked up beyond all recognition "the most boring news"? What, you think the shit he talks about couldn't happen to you?
+Daniel Johnson wages for the working middle class has been stagnant for the past 30 years, and has not kept up with the cost of living, and so people have unwittingly taking pay cuts . $15/hr is not some magical made-up number. Many of our economic and deficit problems stem from lack of proper wages.
Daniel Gregory Do you think that raising wages (including minimum wage) will have any adverse affects on business, small and large? What do you think will happen when small, local companies that can only employ 3 people have to funnel more of their precious income into labor?
+Daniel Johnson When a majority of new income goes toward CEO's rather than 99% of company employees theres a problem. There is plenty of money to go around in most businesses, just no acknowledgement that over the last 30 years min. wage hasent risen with inflation/cost of living. How about the shift of wealth from the upper 1% back to the middle/lower working classes affecting circulation of money? There are positives and possible consequences to raising the min. wage, but to anyone with basic moral and economic knowledge its necessary.
All Attorneys have to do a mandatory 5yrs as a public defender out college and in return they get their student loan debt cut in half. Call your congressman. Let's make this damn thing happen people!
+Rochelle Lang While that's a nice thought, it doesn't really solve the budget crisis that the offices are dealing with. Even if the work is mandatory, you still have to pay them some sort of salary for those 5 years and the states are refusing to fund it at the current level as is.
+Rochelle Lang That would discourage many people from becoming lawyers. It's only a good idea if you want the best and brightest to go into other professions.
In Missouri, the public defender system is so underfunded that it is understaffed to the point of being in perpetual crisis mode. There was a study of the absolute minimum amount of time needed to handle a case competently (and it was NOT much time) and the public defender system was often under half of it.
@@senorPachuChay How, exactly...? I mean, his cases almost always go 100% his way and he's the Lawyer equivalent of The Doctor from Doctor Who because (and, this may be nostalgia blindness) his speeches are badass level 9000. You cannot get a better lawyer in the Marvel universe. Also, Jessica Jones is a Private Eye and Luke Cage is the Superhero equivalent of a Hitman. "Hero for hire" they call him. Neither of them are Lawyers nor Public defenders. Also, Iron Fist is a playboy millionaire.
John Oliver totally ROCKS! He is witty, intelligent and hysterically funny! Despite his claim to the contrary, the selected topics are excellent, real-news journalism. In the last year of streaming his show, I have learned more about the problems experienced in America, than I had in the last 20!! 👍👍
I'm facing the same viscous cycle in Texas and little do people know you are not eligible for a public defender in class C misdemeanor cases. So if I can't come up with $400.00 in 60 days I will be held in contempt. Since I have been diagnosed with a terminal condition I try not to think about it because the stress alone progresses my condition. The system is not broken, its set up just as planned. Threats, intimidation, and extortion.
As a Public Defender, my life is miserable. I feel awful seeing my clients not get the representation they deserve. There's nothing more I can do because I have so many cases. I'm paid pennies for six-figure work. I'm proud that I am helping the defenseless, but I"m not sure how much longer I can do this.
+EmisoraRadioPatio Your job is very apreciated.
Thank you for doing what you do because I know you do t get paid enough or thanked often as you should be. I salute you sir (/)0m0)
+EmisoraRadioPatio You have to strike a difficult balance between doing good and being "miserable." I don't think anyone should expect you to sacrifice your life (and probably part of the lives of those close to you) with just a inadequate salary and a somewhat cynical congratulations in return. I think you should be paid what you are truly worth, and would also give you credit for moving on when you must.
Motivate those lawyers around you to eventually take your place when you've done your share of this work. Tell them this story you've given here. I think it's heartbreaking*/motivational enough
+EmisoraRadioPatio Amen to that - I am a public defender in Pennsylvania. It is overwhelming sometimes. I am paid hourly and work far more than the 35 hours I get paid for. But it can certainly be rewarding sometimes.
I pled guilty to a crime I didn't commit because my PD refused any other course. He is now in prison in MI for hiring a hitman to kill another lawyer. He scheduled my hearing in a middle school auditorium full of kids, parents and teachers. I was accused of buying beer for minors, which I had not done. He he said "I am not going to defend you on THAT charge in front of THIS audience. The only way to avoid jail is to plead guilty. " He could have had the hearing in a court room but chose the school because he was running for prosecutor. A farce, that's on my record forever. Thanks for talking about this issue.
Konig Corvus That's really fucked up. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. I hope that dude lost his job.
Konig Corvus sounds like you should get a real lawyer and now and fight your charge... sounds like your constitutional rights were infringed upon... assuming your not lying or exaggerating
Hiring a pricey or private lawyer doesn't always work, Bob.... lawyers aren't going to go out on a limb and piss off district attorneys. Do you know why? Because district attorneys will then only offer shitty plea bargains for a lawyer's clients. The lawyer will get a reputation for not getting clients "good results." Thus, lawyers are going to do what is in their best interests FIRST -- even if it means throwing a client under a bus by pressuring them to take a plea. Besides, I know plenty of people that have hired lawyers that cost them a pretty penny and the lawyers would actually get pissed off for having to put some effort into cases. Never mind that they charged thousands for a plem. hearing upfront. They have a quick initial meeting of half an hour... charge thousands then maybe give your a quick couple of 5 minute phone calls before the hearing. Ask you to show up 10 to 15 minutes before the hearing to go over stuff. That's the effort for thousands of dollars. The system is corrupt, terrible, etc.
Konig Corvus That's disgusting. Will they not erase that from your record, given what he did? The guy practically had "Corrupt" tattooed on his forehead. I'm sorry you went through that, either way. I don't know what I'd do in such a situation.
@@aaronmarks9366 Well, he did get arrested.
This segment won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming.
Rightfully so.
No kidding? Those were actors that had/have parts on major t.v. shows...!
jwelch5742 i know his show won emmys before but i didn't know it was for this segment
it say at www.emmys.com/shows/last-week-tonight-john-oliver.
jwelch5742 thanks for it
"of course it was florida, how could it not be florida?!"
as someone who's spent most of their life in florida, i'd just naturally assumed that's where the fight happened, but it's nice to have some confirmation.
Best line in the whole sketch. It is delivered perfectly, too, like it is straight out of a cop show.
I've got a theory, do you know what Florida man is
@@lllllllll5171 Florida Man is like Spider-Man. It's not just one person, it's an idea. Anyone can put on the mask.
The clip with the judge yelling at the defense attorney is terrifying.
I hope that judge got fired, that was very unprofessional.
+Suzaku Ichihara That wasn't just unprofessional, that was disgraceful as a human being.
How do idiots come to positions if power again?
+MacShapow it was terrifying, but i have to say, it was also entertaining... like a car accident. :D
+Starving Boy In Africa Sadly, they are voted into power by collective idiocy. And what makes it worse, they can't be fired, they have to be impeached when it concerns governmental appointed positions, despite they are obviously doing something not only illegal, but obviously disgraceful and un-Constitutional. And it sounds like that judge physically assaulted that Public Defender, so if that judge was not brought up on charges, I am baffled.
Despite it being incredibly unlawful and insane behavior, I was kinda hoping that public defender kicked the judge's ass...
"Of course it was Florida, how could it not be Florida?!?"
TakavaNirhii (near-eye) xD lmfao
Alfredo Lopez Who is running for Senate and has a good chance of being the GOP candidate.
gets me every time X'D
"Is that constitutional...?" - "It's constitutional as F__K!! ...You piece of SHIT!!" xD
@@hazukichanx408 spoken like a true American.
Someone (that I know) stole my I.D. a few years back and then got busted with marijuana possession in Westminster Colorado. When the cops picked him up, he used my I.D. got ticketed in my name and released. Then when no one showed up to the court date a warrant was put out for my arrest. I spent 2 weeks in jail, went before a judge, and got a public defender. The public defender did everything he could to try and convince me to take a plea deal. When I told the public defender that it wasn't me, he started telling me stuff like "look, if you take a plea deal, I can probably get you released today. You'll serve 1 month incarcerated at the most." I told him again it wasn't me, he responded, "If you fight this, you're looking at up to 2 years. Do you want to spend 2 years in jail?" I told him again it wasn't me, but at that point I was so scared of doing 2 years in jail, I almost took the plea. I was shaking and so afraid that if there was any kind of mixup or if anything went wrong I would be locked up for 2 years for something I didn't do. I was afraid, but I told him again, "look man! It wasn't me. I wasn't there. Someone stole my identity!" and he said "Well, ok, if this is how you want to proceed then..." and had an attitude like "your funeral kid". He walked up to the judge, they opened up the case file, and right there on the front page was the mugshot of the person they had charged. OBVIOUSLY being not fucking me, they dropped the charges then and there on the spot and I was released within 24 hours. This happened to me in Westminster Colorado in about 2007. Out of everything that had happened, to this day, I will never forget how hard that public defender was pushing and trying to scare me into pleading guilty. So much so that I almost pleaded guilty to a crime that I KNEW I hadn't committed because I was afraid of going to jail for 2 years.
Any attorney regardless if they are a PD or private attorney has to communicate any plea offer and has to advise you of the potential maximum penalty that could be imposed after a potential conviction following trial. To not do so would be to render ineffective assistance of counsel. After receiving this information it up to the Defendant as how to proceed whether by trial or guilty plea. No attorney or Judge can force a person to plead guilty. The attorney is allowed to render an opinion on the likely hood of success at trial based upon their experience but the client does not have to accept that advice and can simply state they want the case listed for a jury trial date.
@@michaeldaly322 I guess you'd have to be there to truly understand how much he was trying to sway me into pleading guilty. It wasn't a matter of the information I was being given, it was a matter of the pressure he was putting on me to plead guilty, and the approach he was taking to scare me into doing it.
@@TenthElementGraphics True. That's fucked up. At the end of the day it should be your decision no matter what. After all, it's your life on the line. Theyre not doing the time.
@@michaeldaly322 basically, he was supposed to be defending me. and his whole attitude was like "c'mon. plead guilty. do it. plead guilty. I swear you'll regret it if you don't. I'm tellin ya kid. Plead guilty, don't make this any bigger of a mess than it already is." when I told him I wasn't even there he seemed annoyed, like I was making a horrible decision despite the direction he was trying to point me in. I swear, it seems like most "public defenders" make a living of just going in everyday and saying "you should take the plea bargain."
@@TenthElementGraphics I know this post is old but I'm going thru something similar but with a paid lawyer. I had my house searched illegally and I'm asking him to file a motion to suppress. He's like "no, because..." and then his billion excuses and I'm like but the officer searched me illegally "yeah, but you see" so I fired him !!!! He wanted me to plea instead of filing a motion to suppress. Wtf!
I really wish that attorney had kicked that judge's ass.
He might have gotten a few good punches in, it could be that the level of beat you need to be to go home early is higher for judges than attorneys.
While that was completely inappropriate for that situation, I honestly DID hope the attorney won that
That judge should be kicked out of office.
Barry Sabahat ikr
The judge was a retired us army reserve colonel who was part of special operations in Iraq and received the both the bronze star and several other medals so the odds where stacked against the attorney. As well the supreme court did overrule the previous court order and fired him and he is currently attending a mental health and anger management program for dealing PTSD he had been dealing with previously and currently.
Holy shit. That judge beating up a public defender, how can someone be still in charge for his job after that? Like seriously?
Welcome to America, my friend!
+Wade Wilson (Deadpool) Florida's Supreme Court did eventually have him fired from his job, but it took them over a year to make that happen.
Krebons1200 Good to hear that he eventually got fired. Because thats the least he deserved. Thank you very much for the update.
+Wade Wilson
What he deserved:
Be fired
Be charged to assault
Put on trial
Be forced to have a public defender instead of one he hired himself.
@Krebons1200 They fired him because of the media attention. They probably wouldn't have done anything otherwise..
I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP, LAST WEEK TONIGHT.
omg same
+Fraust byte I was trying to find some positions to fill myself.
high five! 😢😴
Same here! Welp, time to watch, I guess.
+Fraust byte Our main story tonight, sleep deprivation. How the internet is killing you.
I am a law student and was assigned to watch this video for one of my classes!
same
Good
That is fucking awesome.
Quality education
69 likes confirmed
XD
My son got lucky... he had to get a PD to defend against his now ex-wife's bogus charges. The DA had added a couple of felony charges and his PD was a freaking SHARK. He decimated the ADAs in his case and made his ex look like a fool idiot when she was on the stand. His PD got all of the charges but one summary offense dropped. It was awesome!
Hell Ya!!!
This is a perfect wrecking. PDs should be more like this.
"...made his ex look like a fool idiot..."
A fool idiot.
This wasn't just a case of regular idiocy. This was
_ADVANCED IDIOCY_
Liam White wait how do we get italics in comments this is important pls tell me
ForTaxReasons you've got to put _s around it.
Before I even watch this, I already know how fucked up the public defender situation is in this country. Even still, I expect a few horrifying surprises.
Please don't stop doing good work, Mr. Oliver.
+Matt Goodwin ...aaaand yep, my rage is at an all-new level. Thanks for the coronary, Murica
+Matt Goodwin No matter how bad we think it is, it's always worse. And Florida...What the hell is going on down in Florida???
+Lisa DuPre It's ALWAYS in Florida
+Matt Goodwin I always knew there were serious systemic issues in America....but ever since Oliver started doing these long segments, I've come to the realization that quite literally *_everything_* we do is unintelligent unethical backwards and the polar opposite of an actual solution. It's honestly shocking just how broken _everything_ is. We get everything wrong...in every way possible. It's absolutely ridiculous how systemically fucked everything is. And he hasn't even done a segment on the Drug War yet....
+avedic Where Bolivia which solved 60% of it's drug problem by throwing out the US based DEA and handling it by itself, now is being investigated by DEA which in it's own turf solved 0% of it's drug problems but solved 100% of the slave labor shortage problem which some of the most influential intellectuals today consider it's main reason for being created. Go figure...
THIS IS AMERICA, WHERE IT'S A CRIME TO BE POOR AND THE PENALTY IS DEBTOR'S PRISON.
+22steve5150 Perfect capitalism.
+22steve5150 Contact your Senators and tell them. Tell your friends to do likewise. Make some noise.
+22steve5150 Almost brings us back to the early days of industrialisation. In England, where unemployment was a crime - slavery the punishment.
+22steve5150 Debtor's prisons are alive and well in America, we simply call the charges by different names, such as 'contempt of court'.
+LastWeekTonight Seems legit.
I love how he gets A list actors to do his scenes for this. Makes me respect them.
I live in one of those overworked counties, and am an attorney who does pro-bono criminal work. I've seen some pretty shitty stuff done by the PD's. I'll give one example: a girl was arrested for a DUI. She blew a .05. BUT, she blew a .05 on her 11th (ELEVENTH) time blowing into the machine. The public defender pleaded her guilty even though the DA said he was going to drop the case.
I can't even get mad at the PD's office, because as John says, 40% of the PD's offices don't have investigators. You know who DOES have investigators? The DA"s office. You know who you never hear about having funding issues or staffing issues? DA's office. The system is astronomically stacked.
the da system in detroit actually is underpaid and understaffed
Did the public defender plead her guilty because he/she needed to win the case?
Jane Jinn no, not necessarily. they need it to be done so they can move on to their next case.
Damn, I just watched The Night of and I thought that was fiction! I thought "Surely even if they know he's not the murderer, they won't charge him with murder just because he's easier to persecute."
I’m an ignoramus so could you explain the significance of her blowing a 0.5 on her 11th time? What does 11 have to do with anything? Why does it matter?
John oliver is America's concience. Thank god for him.
*_conscience_* and thank *_Odin_* ... but close enough.
arcsomniac * Thank Ra is more like it
Nobody ever thanks Zeus.......smh.
Having a conscience is worth fuck all when you never listen.
Thank the great and unimaginable Tsathoggua.
If it weren't for the fact he was born in England, I'd say John Oliver for President!
+RedCatracho Agreed.
+RedCatracho Because the best we come up with is Trump.
+Mark Schofield Somehow, being born overseas isn't stopping Ted Cruz.
+gotham61 He was born in Canada, but yea, he's still sweeping that one under the rug.
+Mark Schofield More republicans believe Ted Cruz was born in the US than Obama. Maybe there is a way to trick people. His accent isn't that thick. Could pass for Southern maybe.
Holy crap, never knew some states charged for a public defender who "will be appointed to you free of cost". Don't know how people can say the system is perfect
The appointment is free.
...But you gotta pay the fees for paperwork and the lawyer's fees too.
“If you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you*
*the lawyer will still cost money”
New Jersey is one of those states. I needed one a few years back, $75 for a "court appointed p.d." . Fuck this broken ass system, it's all about money, not justice
People, this is why it's also important to vote for your senators, local law makers, etc. These are issues that can be changed, if enough people petition their lawmakers and submit bills for review. Laws don't just pop out of thin air, and their ever-changing, so go vote for your legislators on Tuesday, and make SURE they support your causes.
@david lynn Okay, then what's your proposed alternative? I'll be the first to say that American democracy is the worst system, there are better ones like proportional or ranked voting.
@@brandondavidson4085 The rest of the world don't elect prosecutors and judges and probably do a slightly better job at giving poor people a fair trial. Unfortunately most Americans say "that wouldn't work here".
While voting is important, the statutes in question are based on state and the Federal Constitution, or case law thereof. Politicians cannot change that. They could allocate more funding, in this particular case, but you would have to have very substantial numbers of voters on board to get that, particularly in the nearly bankrupt blue state local governments.
@@jdsmith542 Politicians absolutely CAN change the law, that's their job. And weird of you to bring up the voting is good but also voting makes your local government bankrupt only when it's Democrats?
@@brandondavidson4085 They cannot change the mechanics of the system; as I pointed out, those are set in constitutional frameworks and cannot be changed except by special ballot items for state constitutions, and by affirmative majority votes in 33 or more states for the Federal. As to the bankruptcy, I don’t know where your confusion comes from. The economic state of California and Rust Belt cities is well-reported.
Why are there so many dumb legal issues here in America where we pretty much fine poor people for being poor? It's disgusting and needs to stop ASAP.
well that's maybe cause America isn't a county
+Phantomhive Because it's easier to keep people down when they can barely feed themselves.
+Phantomhive *Conservative voice* "Poor people are in their position because of entitlement. They don't want to work so they assume they can mooch off the government and be lazy. If they worked half as hard as I do, and were perfectly fine working 3 jobs to scrounge a living together, they'd have nothing to complain about."
*Brought to you by*: Can't-those-peasants-shut-up-already?
+Phantomhive A lot of places try their hardest to make being poor or homeless as illegal as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an actual law in a city or state that is blatant about it by going "it's illegal to be homeless". Most places try to be more 'sneaky' about it by anti-loitering laws, among other stuff.
+MrCazador123 oh. he missed an r. that's not hard to do with autocorrect. (sarcasm heavily implied.
I thought we got rid of debtor's prisons, but they keep coming back as a different name.
It can only be killed with fire. Or it will keep coming back.
They got out of style, but they were never banned federally. Many states still have it on the books and some still have debtors prisons.
For people who champion science and frequently cite it as evidence of global warming, you guys can be pretty dense about what's in front of you. If you apply your scientific principles to this observation, you'd conclude that debtor's prison is just a law of the universe. Why fight it?
No Burton, it's not a law of the universe. It's an effect of human action, much like the aforementioned Global Warming. And we fight it for the same reasons we fight Global Warming, because indifference to what is wrong in the world will only lead to what is wrong growing strong, spreading wider, and becoming more accepted as normal. It won't be the downfall of civilisation, it'll be much worse. Civilization will become evil.
It would be nice to round them up and burn them
"Come on guess."
"Florida?"
"Of course it was Florida, How could it not be Florida?"
Every time I see you're show, it's universally awesome. Thanks John.
* your show (silly autocorrect)
+Julia Smith autocorrect can't correct word choice in a grammatical situation. But, also right, it IS GIGO
+Jon Masters Why didn't you just edit your original comment?
+Young Frankenstein chill?
The True Antlers Nope, she started out with "shut up", so she deserves no mercy. Fuck her and the three people standing closest to her.
That eagle puppet looks exactly like John Oliver. It's uncanny.
Of course it was Florida!
How could it not be Florida!
Exactly!
I love it but still prefer "It's constitutional AF"
I'f you guys agree it is Florida. I'm starting something to change that because it happened to me let's keep track of each other. My website is not open yet. But I'll have a TH-cam page to.
Born and raised in Florida and I can say with complete Honesty that this state is a Disgrace to all the Founding Father's held Dear:(
I worked as a "panel attorney" in a jurisdiction with no public defender and then became a federal defender. One problem that you don't raise in this segment is that District Attorneys and US Attorneys overcharge in order to have ammunition to gain an advantage in plea negotiations. For example, a case that is basically a conspiracy to sell marijuana will be "upgraded" to include money laundering charges for every time the defendant sent a check or money order to his family. Any crime the DA or US Atty can think of will be charged and by the time you see your client, 90% of them have already confessed to committing the crime. I never urged anyone to plead who told me they were innocent, or had given a false confession. (It happens). I agree that these systems are pitifully underfunded and under-resourced, but that's just one part of the whole problem. Thank you for bringing these issues to focus.
As a second year law student right now, John Oliver is spot on. While the legal community is almost unanimous in wanting more public workers, the fact is that there is no money in public defense and the attorneys can barely sustain themselves - let alone pay law school loans. My dad is a public defender and the government is 3 months behind paying him...But few governments will ever allocate more money for "those struggling/overworked lawyers".
a 1000 cases a year? thats how you end up being Saul Goodman..
That's Fresno County/Tulare County justice for ya. Lots of Saul Goodmans running around..
"Basically... you're f*cked"
***** so it appears.
+DH Shawon Who was that?
+talesin- god of the internet I see you completely missed the point of this episode. Guilty until proven innocent wins the day.
+Chris Mack Dennis Quaid
+talesin- god of the internet
Good luck with that. With all the federal and local statutes on the books, you're probably committing a crime right now without even knowing it.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse though, thankfully, right?
I’m so thankful John Oliver and his crew at HBO produce these, because more people need to know about these problems.
It’s also heartbreaking to learn there is yet another problem I can’t fix, and that most people do not care about-and most assuredly don’t want to know about.
OBJECTION! I have no problems, I just felt like saying that.
+Sam Geuvenen Sustained.
+Sam Geuvenen Ready, FIGHT!
+Sam Geuvenen Phoenix Wright would be honored.
Ninja07Keaton
+LastWeekTonight "Wanted to celebrate my youtube success and an iPhone 6S giveaway came to mind" ~ I guess if you call Zero Subscribers a success lol
Of course it was Florida! How could it not be Florida!!
>Lives in Florida!!
BEEN TRYING TO GET OUT FOR AWHILE NOW!! HELP!!
Cause that's the solution to every problem!
Just stop while you're behind.
animeman1000 SIT DOWN!!!! Im the judge!!! WHAT you wanna go out back so I can beat the fuck outta you!!! LMFAO
Buddy im joking. Calm down.
I am calm sir. I just don't agree with you "joke" that's all. Take care.
animeman1000 oh well. Just trying to cheer you up. You will feel better when you leave that crap hole Florida. Take care little buddy.
+animeman1000 Just run,run and dont stop till you hit its border.
THIS IS HOW THE US WORKS: Any time the govt cuts costs, all the budgets helping the poorest, most helpless people are the ones cut FIRST!
Trump may he rest in peace.
KORREKT.
My family was comfortable and middle-class like yours just a decade or so ago. Then my employer of 25 years began "accelerating attrition." Laid off. My discretionary income declined steadily. Now we rely on a local food bank and charities for many of groceries and clothed. I'm not alone and I don't see that things will get better. Prepare yourselves.
And the worst part is that those budget cuts are usually made to accommodate tax breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy. It's like a reverse Robinhood.
Okay that judge clip, whoa
ikr? i thought it was a real show first
"C'mon, guess!"
"Florida?"
"Of course it was Florida! How could it not be Florida?"
How am I supposed to go another week without your show, John? And just how many holidays do you need to take? The world needs you John!!! You're show should be Monday to Friday, two hours a night! That should be your life, John! That should be your life!
The United States is a horrible place to live if you're poor. The judicial system that is supposed to serve the public isn't even working. What kind of freedom is this?
+KillerInstinct69 All western countries are horrible places to live if you're poor. Trust me on this one.
+KillerInstinct69 Freedom?? what has freedom to do with the land of the fees, and home of the caged?
Ian Stevenson I just ignored him. Clearly he has no idea how or what with developed European countries.
Plus i have no idea what he means with "horrible"
Horrible could mean not having the brand stuff and perhaps a small house with 2-3 bedrooms that isnt near the city center and not the fastest internet and possible having to go to the food bank weekly to make sure you have enough food to even trow some out. (Dutch poor)
Dean A. I'm from Australia. And to me, europeans are a bunch of racist and megalomaniacs assholes. So yeah, horrible places.
+Ignacio Salas
The hilarity of a Aussie calling anyone or anything racist.
And the more you keep saying, "Europe is..." the more you proof you know nothing.
It's truly sad just how true this story is! I knew that there was information in a statement that a witness supposedly said, but that I knew for a fact that she NEVER said. I told my public pretender this fact, and he STILL refused to call her, or anybody else, whereas, had he called her, he would have found out that the entire statement was fabricated by either the cop, or prosecutor that typed it up. He refused to contact or speak with any witnesses. The only 2 people that he was interested in contacting were the district attorney to get a new plea bargain, and me to try and sell me on how good the current offer was. THEN, my attorney was too good to come to a hearing, so he sent an underling to my hearing. At that hearing, the district attorney offered an even better deal than my attorney had tried selling me on, which was a DPA (deferred prosecution agreement), that I was willing to accept, and MY "lawyer" said no, that I couldn't accept that deal, because she already had the paperwork filled out for the worse deal that she told me (and this is absolutely no joke), "You either accept this deal, or you will be found guilty, and go to jail," even though she knew next to nothing about my actual case. That was when we proceeded into the courtroom, where the district attorney offered me the better deal (the DPA), and I said I would accept that deal, and MY public pretender actually said no, I could not accept that deal, because she already had the paperwork filled out for the much worse deal, to which I responded, "Then, redo the paperwork," to which she simply said, "No!"
A friend of mine was in the hospital, and her husband at the time couldn't be bothered to get his kids off to school for 3 straight days, and SHE got charged with child neglect, because she should have been able to stop him from being so lazy. She was charged with child neglect, and her public pretender demanded that she take a plea deal, even though she found out later that because she was physically unable to care for herself with the debilitating illness she had (MRSA that had progressed to the point that the hospital told her that if she didn't get to the hospital within the next 48 hours, she would be dead), she could not legally be held responsible for caring for her children. Unfortunately, the public pretender that was assigned to her case wasn't willing to make that same argument, but instead, just wanted her to plea to something, to close that case and move onto the next.
This doesn't end with public defenders. The police know that this is the case. They know there is a pretty big chance they can get away with arresting innocent people.
+John McVay I think it goes both ways with the police. Either they're corrupt (or just assholes), and they charge innocent people/or those with low level crimes, or they're not corrupt (and genuinely trying to protect the public) and are forced to look the other way most of the time, by not arresting people who are blatantly not following the law. Which really only means that in the end, that the public is more at risk.
of course it was Florida, how can it not be Florida!
+TheFPStraveller Basically... you're fucked.
+TheFPStraveller It's constitutional as fuck!
gets me every time X'D
Another awesome thing the courts love to do is make you show up multiple times over the course of a year, and each time you show up legit all they do is give you a piece of paper that tells you the next time you have to show up to court.
And the court I went to charges you $340.00 for every court appearance alone.
+Vern Emcee Also I spent 14 days in jail for not having $400 bucks to pay for a chemical dependency evaluation. for charges that had nothing to do with drugs in the first place.
Afterwards I ended up taking the evaluation and all it actually was, was a dude asking me if i feel the need to drink and smoke, i said no, he said i passed, i handed him all my money in my wallet.
+Vern Emcee Man, if I was in your situation and he asked I felt the need to drink and smoke I'd say "after dealing with the shit justice system in this city, yes I feel the need to drink and smoke heavily."
Also when I got out of jail I was homeless because they "deemed me a physical threat" for non violent charges, and said if i lived at my house they would take my sisters away because they are minors.
So they took my phone, all my money, and then when i got let out i didn't have a home to go to.
I could talk for hours about stories like these.
+Vern Emcee The justice system is a bitch ain't it
In regards to the original post, just bring up jury nullification when they ask you if you will only make decisions based solely on the law. They won't put you in then. Google it :D
I have actually lived through this. In 2006, i was arrested for crimes i did not commit. I was stuck in a brutal jail until i took a plea deal for probation. I was later arrested three more times. On my last court appearance, my new public defender, Mike Wink, had to recuse himself because he was my original prosecuting attorney
2:37 John Oliver confirmed for gay furry.
+Lutranereis I was expecting at least one member from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
+Lutranereis John Oliver has my vote.
+Queen Chrysalis not even "night court" or whatever it was called, was that weired/ freakish.
msjanegrey
the fuck are you talking about?
+Queen Chrysalis sorry touchscreen, the comment was ment for the one next to your, by the time I saw, too late, with this phone I don't know how to delete comment, you'll excuse ;)
If anybody doesn't understand it yet, income inequality is the biggest societal problem we face.
"It's constitutional as fuck!"
"you piece of shit"
"Basically... you're fucked."
"of course it was Florida, how could it not be Florida!?!?" Had me rolling the first time I watched this episode, I just watched it again now.. It's even funnier than the first time.
So good
Thankfully that judge is no longer on the bench.
I hope when your kid grows up you show them this and you both get a chuckle. It's crazy how our view of kids change when they are our own. Stay safe
The energy in these earlier episodes is so much less chaotic than the most recent ones. Its like as time went on John gained more confidence to unleash the chaos.
He has to. It seems to be the only way to get a lot of people to actually care.
Seeing Larry’s story again made me cry again. Life hasn’t always been easy, but I can’t imagine how terrifying his has been while he’s struggling with a health condition and they just batter him. I hope he’s doing okay; but knowing how things are out here, I’d be really surprised if things turned out well. It’s so effed up that it’s only through donations that anything good ever happens
I really wish this guy was running for president. He knows a lot more than all the candidates running.
i'd like Jon Stewart to run for president. Honestly, I think John Oliver has more power right where he is than he ever would in the oval office.
+Michael Moretti Damn straight! 7 years later and we're still losing 700,000 jobs a month! Oh wait...
Michael Moretti Okay.
Michael Moretti By war crimes are you referring to all of the innocent people killed by drones?
John Oliver wasn't born in Murica
Damn it, where's Phoenix Wright when you need him?
+Dreigonix In Japan using the Bench Trial system.
+TornadoADV :(
Dreigonix Which frankly, I think would be awesome, because I could totally see Phoenix winning a fight with a judge.
+Dreigonix Working 2000 cases a year b/c he can't do this shit alone! In other words, he's one more year from becoming Phoenix Wright to Phoenix Wrong.
+Dreigonix Currently in the Kingdom of Kurain. I'm SO HYPED for Ace Attorney 6.
I thought we all agreed that Go Set a Watchman never happened
+William McAllister I don't know man. I liked the writing, even though Atticus was contradicting to TKAM
William McAllister I like to think it could've happened if Harper Lee had a choice
I can agree with that.
that judge beating up the lawyer was so scary holy crap
fr wtf
he was a retired colonel and served in the special forces I've read. PTSD and so forth. I had to look this up and see what happened.
@@Mehwhatevr Bullshit excuse. I have been with people who had PTSD from war and they do not suddenly challenge people to a fight when they don't get what they want
@@happyfacefries Woah hoh, just to be clear I’m not making excuses for him. I’m just saying what happened and what his excuse was. If he’s unstable he shouldn’t be on the bench.
I honestly don’t know the full story. I was rooting for the latter and was sad he lost, but the stories I read seem to say there might be more to the story and the public defender might have had it coming... I honestly don’t know and am only judging that this was completely inappropriate. The judge should have handled it better even if the latter deserved it
@@Mehwhatevr Definitely inappropriate, but “mutual combat” is lawful in Florida.
Besides that, the point of this segment is truly sickening. So sad many Americans are just finding this out.
They should legalize drugs, then they wouldn`t have so many people to defend.
+OPEN MIND Wieso findet man dich überall?
+OPEN MIND Decriminalize, more like.
Vesania At first.
Baby steps.
+OPEN MIND But private prisons need more prisoners for money.
+Garrick Groover and that's the next step, get rid of private prisons. When they are private then incentive is to get more prisoners because you're paid by the head, when they are government the incentive is to have less because the pay comes out of pocket.
....is it weird that this is making me think about being a public defender?
+Scorpia161 like really, i can hunt bugs, fight judges in hallways, and address systematic inequality from the front lines. too bad i hate college and don't want to pay for law school.
I was like if there's really a high demand for them they must get paid well
+dcoetzee I know a couple of people who started to study law out of very idealistic principles. One of them told me that literally the first thing they heard during the welcome lecture was "Welcome! No one of you will make the world a better place, but, if you make smart choices, there is a lot of money ahead of you." Everyone in this profession whom I know has a story like that to tell.
If you are wondering why the system is that corrupt, sit in on a couple of law lectures if you get the chance. I did some courses in media law both undergrad and grad and was honestly horrified. Law is unscientific as fuck (pardon my french), it doesn't care about reason or rationality and holds as close as possible to rules so vaguely formulated, that three different courts in the same country can reach three different results (as it happens often in Germany) and you really have to get the right court for your case. For example, almost all cases for media piracy are done in Hamburg, because the court there is known for its draconic stance on the issue. If you get sued for the same thing in front of any other court, you are MUCH more likely to get off easy, especially as a first time offender. But not in Hamburg, oh no... The system couldn't be more arbitrary if it tried.
So as a law student, you have to somehow hold up your principles while being confronted with a system that often appears like Lewis Carroll came up with it, sometimes bordering on insanity, sometimes being outright insane. Or you surrender, accept that 2+2 can equal 5 if the circumstances demand it, forget about principles and ethics and all that abstract hippy nonsense and not only does your by then chronic headache recede, your pockets also start to fill up quickly.
+k3nny111 i understand your frustration and I must admit that I'm not familiar with the civil law system; so I can't adequately respond to your claim about different courts reach different opinions in Germany. However, in the common law system, there is this doctrine called stare decisis where cases which were decided in the higher courts are binding on the lower courts. That's why you have to do research on case law when making your arguments. Otherwise, it would just be like charming the judge into deciding the case for you, in which case, you really don't need to go to lawschool and destroy your youth to be a lawyer.
Anyway, as a soon-to-be lawyer in a common law country, i just wanna respond to your claims abt law being unscientific and vague. The law is expected to be predictable; and hence the rules have to be relatively fixed. But every case is factually different, to whatever extent. So how do you construct legal rules which are able to deal with different and evolving factual issues while remaining relatively unchanged? You need flexibility and hence some degree of vagueness in your legal rules! Remember, it's about striking a fine balance here. There is a great deal of complex legal theories on this; you can check it out if you're interested.
P/S: you might discredit me for the fact that lawyers rejoice in the ambiguity of the law and hence my argument is biased. But it's the truth LOL
Hoang Trang I appreciate your response.
In Germany, there is no case law. Two identical charges put in front of two different judges can be decided differently (and often are). Only decisions done by the "Bundesverfassungsgericht" (closes thing to your Supreme Court) have weight outside of their inidivual case. But even those aren't binding; other courts just recognize them out of convenience. If a smaller court ignores a decision of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, then the plaintiff or defendant, whoever is unhappy with the outcome, can just go up through the various courts until reaching the Bundesverfassungsgericht, which itself is very consistent in its interpretation of the law. However, this level of security only exists if the Bundersverfassungsgericht already decided on an issue. For every other case, you'd be rolling the dice going up that high, and a very expensive dice at that. So the vast majority of cases is, obviously, decided by lower courts and you honestly just have to get lucky which court you end up in. It's the same with my example in Hamburg: their court is extremely friendly to plaintiffs who sue because of digital piracy and copyright infringement. So everyone going to court over this, no matter where he lives or his company is based, immediately sues in Hamburg. The handfull of cases in front of other courts on the same issue have VASTLY different outcomes. We had an example of two nearly identical charges for illegal distribution of music via torrent by minors, where in Hamburg the parents were charged with a six figure penalty, while another court on the same level, just in a different city, ruled that the parents can't be held responsible for this, as long as they told their kids not to do any illegal sharing/downloading. This is not predictable at all.
Another issue which really crushed me was in Urheberrecht (our equivalent to copyright law). One of the main questions in german Urheberrecht is whether or not something is a "Werk" (there is no perfect translation, closest thing would be "creation"). A "Werk" needs to have "Schaffenshöhe", which means a level of quality that qualifies it for protection under Urheberrecht. What exactly gives "Schaffenshöhe" to a "Werk" is nowhere clearly defined, so whenever the issue comes up you have lawyers argue out whether or not something basically is ART. It is completely ridiculous. I've read court decisions where it went on for multiple paragraphs over the quality of brush strokes and color palette, or whether or not the artistic capturing of natural light is itself an artistic act.
I understand that law has to be formulated vaguely for flexibility, but without case law, there is almost no predictibility. Of US law I know very little, so maybe your system is a little bit more sane. (Never thought I ever write that under one of Johns lovely videos.)
My academic training was both in art and science and when I discovered what goes for "Rechtswissenschaft" (Science of law) in Germany, my mind was blown. Of course, maybe other countries have systems which do actually make sense.
Got a bike light violation recently for not riding with a light on my bike at night. Heres the bill break down;STATE COSTS: $35COURT COST: $20COURT TECH: $10COP TRAINING: $10PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE: $10 (didn't use a public defender still had to pay)DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION: $10 (not sure why Im paying that)and because I talked with the city prosecutor they tacked on an additional $20 for 1 min of talking bringing my total bill to:$115 for not riding with a bike light at night.... Merica the best country in the world.
+SoCoolScienceShow You did in fact not ride with a bike light though, right?
+John Smith What's your point? Someone who is poor could actually wind up in jail for a month for not having the money to pay those small fines.. Which then add up to huge fines. John Oliver has done plenty on this subject; were you sleeping?
Is that the god damn goal, month long Jail for something trivial, while murderous drivers with money get out instantly and get off with nothing, because they got a hot shit lawyer with loads of time. Like those.
+SoCoolScienceShow Domestic violence prevention fee? LOL
Domestic violence prevention fee. I'd talk to a lawyer cuz there's no way that should be real. Hell I'd try and sue the city.
+Keira Desbiens You judged him, which is bad enough, without first making sure you understood him correctly. His question could in fact be a sarcastic jab at the system, implying they're so corrupt they could have fined him for something he didn't do.
Edit: never mind, you understood him correctly.
8:02 As of 2016, he is no longer a judge:
“It is without question that except for the June 2, 2014, incident, Judge Murphy had been a good judge. Notwithstanding his prior judicial performance, Judge Murphy’s total lack of self-control became a national spectacle - an embarrassment not only to the judge himself but also to Florida’s judicial system. Given the clear erosion of public confidence in the judiciary caused by his misconduct, removal is an appropriate sanction.”
The lawyer who tattoos the cases he's lost on his back... I'm tearing up.
Holy shit. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant IS 37 seconds longer. Damn...
+Dan The Enigma Some of Metallica's songs (such as One, Master of Puppets, or Sanitarium, just to name a few) are also longer as well.
+Dan The Enigma
My favorite song, American Pie, is a minute and 35 seconds longer.
The live version of freebird is twice as long.
Supper's Ready by Genesis is over 3 times that.
This video is over twice as long.
JOHN OLIVER FOR PRESIDENT!
+Mustafe Abdullahi he's an American Citizen
+Mike Tran Doesn't it have to be by birth?
coconutologist he does, just correcting the other dude for calling him a brit. He's American now.
+RedCatracho Then John Oliver for Senate Majority Leader!!
+Kurt Steiss better alternative than Trump for president. ;)
"... any person ... who is too poor to get surgery, cannot be assured to stay alive unless a hospital is provided for him."
A public defender tried to get me to plea to driving without a license when my origional ticket was for driving on a suspended license. Long story short, my license shouldnt have been suspended in the first place, and thankfully the DA dropped the charge.
Why is it that the news channel can't provide the nation with info like this
To be fair, the Brevard County judge did make the local news around the state, and he is no longer on the bench.
Because they’re corrupt and bought out
Because a well informed population means a healthy democracy of people who vote on real issues
*It's not News* interesting sure and we get taught how things were supposed to work. The fact is *it's been broken since a long time.* So not really news.
Because the primary news sources these days have an agenda.
John Oliver kinda does too, but it's still more fact based than most reporting we see.
I have predicted this coming for a long time. Which is why i always knew i was right for becoming a Lawyer. My only issue is after the Bar Exam, the only way you will justifiably pay off the Student Debt is to go into County Prosecution. Even just to get a Name for myself, I have been advised to go Prosecution first to make my Money, Then move to Public Defending... Kinda the wrong idea i had in mind but unfortunately, it is the System we built for our selves...
I'm in the same boat. I'm in my twenties now and will likely be in my late thirties by the time I actually do what I wanted to do with my degree. It's a sad state of affairs :/
+WheelmanGames Nice beard.
+WheelmanGames But hopefully you'll one day be a very good avocado at law.
+WheelmanGames With the way you write, I hope you're never my lawyer. I'm surprised you even received a degree of any kind.
ok
I just like how he talks. I could watch all of these for hours. I wish John Oliver was my second dad.
The govt should take away the millions of dollars in tax refunds and loop holes from the top 1 percent and put that money towards the people in this country who really need it.
Bernie sanders is campaigning this...
+harpreetlidder1 thats all they claim, but never will they do it.
jack li Because the power is in the congress. They pass the bills. If congress is not on your side then your policies are useless. Same thing happened to Obama.
+harpreetlidder1 dude, do u even know how our congress work? Why do we even need a president if all the power is in the hand of congress? It is true congress do have lots power SO is our president. There are certain thing he can do and things he need the approval of the congress. By claiming" oh I can't do anything because of congress" is pure bullshit.
harpreetlidder1
That's why Obama has had to resort to using executive order's to pass bills congress refuses to work with him on/ allow. Most "Washington insiders" will throw every American under the bus to allow them to maintain their lifestyles and tax breaks. Congress is basically the Unites States' 1800 royal family. They live a life of wealth & privilege on the backs of hard working overly taxed Americans.
John Oliver looks like Sam the eagle...
+freestylexgp Holy shit, your right.
Hahaha, I thought I was the only one thinking about that... ;)
trial by combat....there would be no issues all around
That's awesome, dam, no wonder my jujitsu instructor is a lawyer
+Xuanming Lu "You wanna head out back?" Yeah, I'd love to, do you want to?
ordeal is the way to go lmao
+Kel-chan
Yeah, then you can just fight for your freedom. And if you can't fight yourself, you always have the right to a champion, and those are free!
*****
And they would work better at their jobs than public defenders =D
Got billed for the public defender AND the cost of keeping me in jail for the three days up to the hearing in MN, can confirm.
Had absolutely no income, but was expected to pay 100$ for being incarcerated, 128$ for the "if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you" and was expected to pay 500$ bail to not sit in jail for the next few months until ANOTHER hearing was scheduled for the plea bargain.
How did that security guard just stand there when that judge and public defender went to presumably fight each other?
The donations have reached $25,000 due to this show
Still not the amount they needed
Where he will be taxed unknowingly and unable to pay! The cycle starts again..
Judge challenges public defender to a fight. Then goes through with it. Stay classy, Florida.
I am the widower of a career public defender. In 28 years, I never heard any stories about how the police officers are your friends. I did hear plenty of stories about how prosecutors play fast and loose with facts and procedures.
FYI that judge was fired in December 2015 for that fight with the attorney
It took a year and a half (he was initially given a lighter punishment), but the Florida Supreme Court banned him from being a judge.
fired? for criminal assault of a public defender in court? as the judge? thats not just something that should disbarr them it should land them in prison
@@SharienGaming he shouldn't be banned they both agreed to fight
@@wonderbread7327 im pretty sure streetfights are still illegal
nevermind that he is basically blackmailing the attorney into the fight
that judge is a criminal
@@SharienGaming the attorney wanted to fight too so either they’re both punished or none of them are
I am absolutely livid that that judge didn't get any repercussions for that. The irony of injustice in a courthouse is staggering.
He was eventually fired in december last year for that incident. But it took the florida supreme court overturning the florida judicial qualificaions comission ruling to get to that decision. They tried giving him a fine/suspension/anger management initially, but the video evidence is too damning. The public defender in that fight even resigned in protest over their decision to keep him on the bench. The fact it took this much time and effort to serve justice for what should have been a straight forward case is really screwed up. Cant help but wonder if John Oliver's video had any influence on the final decision...
+Matt Hebbard That's ridiculous, but I feel a fair bit better knowing he suffered the consequences eventually. That prosecutor deserves reparations, but I wonder how many other times this has happened undocumented. What was his name? I'd love to read up on it
To be honest, Its Florida. Crazy shit always happens there.
+They Told Me I Could Become Anything, So I became an Eggplant You know the reason we see so many crazy headlines from Florida is because police arrests and reports are public record.
The only info that I lead off about Florida (because I'm an aussie) is from Florida Man.
+PKLuver944 There's always some Florida man or woman doing some fucked up shit in Florida
No, Florida just has a law where all criminal and civil records have to be made public after conviction, and the media seems to pick the funniest ones.
My ex was from Florida. The implications are exactly what you think they are.
That public defender is a HERO!
Land of the corrupt, home of the greedy
Alfredo Lopez or you know, any socialist or communist country ever.
Sharks 'n Shanks Every country.
Bozo Clown excuses for what? I don't understand your point here.
Bozo Clown Ok so if you are going to say that quote "our shit stinks", how exactly?
Bozo Clown I just don't understand where you are going with the argument. America has corruption, obviously. But a much smaller amount than almost any other country in the world. Are you saying that because it exists it's on the same level as other corruption? Because that is demonstratively false.
WHERE IS MY WEEKLY DOSE OF MY FAVOURITE SPIDER HANDED COMEDIAN?!?!
Looks like the ' Debtors' prison' is still a thing in 21st century USA.
'greatest country in the world' indeed :/
Capitalism has got to go.
Thank you jon! Your my the best! SOOO many issues you shine lights on! YOU NAIL THEM! FINALLY!!!! THANK YOU!
This show should be called "Reasons to not live in the U.S."...
No it should be called "ANOTHER good reason not to live in the us" 😉
So, the rest of the world has it better than the people of the US? That all those countries songs have been lying to me? . . . . Why am I not surprised?
Off, you two fuck.
"... and f*ck yourself if you live in Florida."
Increasingly - "Reasons not to live".
Every time I even think about our judicial system my blood starts boiling. From law enforcement to courtrooms to prisons, everything is a complete disaster and a disgrace.
So... it seems like the racoon bit is a recurring theme... I approve of this running gag.
Literally he makes the most boring news actually funny
I'd argue that major social issues, destroyed lives and brutal scandals aren't exactly boring. Exhausting or complicated might work here.
Boring is what I'd call my list of favourite chocolates and the process of watching me think about them.
How is going through a list of basically everything a country is supposed to mean and represent and finding out each and every item on that list is fucked up beyond all recognition "the most boring news"?
What, you think the shit he talks about couldn't happen to you?
Government logic: Spend $10,000 to collect a $100 fine.
I have a solution. Increase wages so that we can afford our own lawyers. Problem solved.
+Daniel Gregory Is this your real opinion or are you making fun of someone?
+Daniel Johnson wages for the working middle class has been stagnant for the past 30 years, and has not kept up with the cost of living, and so people have unwittingly taking pay cuts . $15/hr is not some magical made-up number. Many of our economic and deficit problems stem from lack of proper wages.
Daniel Gregory Do you think that raising wages (including minimum wage) will have any adverse affects on business, small and large? What do you think will happen when small, local companies that can only employ 3 people have to funnel more of their precious income into labor?
+Daniel Johnson -the same thing that happened when slavory ended. Businesses found ways to make a profit.
+Daniel Johnson When a majority of new income goes toward CEO's rather than 99% of company employees theres a problem. There is plenty of money to go around in most businesses, just no acknowledgement that over the last 30 years min. wage hasent risen with inflation/cost of living. How about the shift of wealth from the upper 1% back to the middle/lower working classes affecting circulation of money? There are positives and possible consequences to raising the min. wage, but to anyone with basic moral and economic knowledge its necessary.
All Attorneys have to do a mandatory 5yrs as a public defender out college and in return they get their student loan debt cut in half. Call your congressman. Let's make this damn thing happen people!
+Rochelle Lang Maybe two at most.
+Rochelle Lang While that's a nice thought, it doesn't really solve the budget crisis that the offices are dealing with. Even if the work is mandatory, you still have to pay them some sort of salary for those 5 years and the states are refusing to fund it at the current level as is.
+Rochelle Lang First thing is do not get a student loan. Never.
m
+Rochelle Lang That would discourage many people from becoming lawyers. It's only a good idea if you want the best and brightest to go into other professions.
"Justice for All" really needs some fine tuning.
In Missouri, the public defender system is so underfunded that it is understaffed to the point of being in perpetual crisis mode. There was a study of the absolute minimum amount of time needed to handle a case competently (and it was NOT much time) and the public defender system was often under half of it.
That segment at the end was epic! The production values and acting exceeded those of the average TV cop/lawyer show.
John Oliver! You are my hero. Thank you for doing this segment. More!
And...... all actual money is going into stadiums. Priorities America, ya need some priorities.
Public Defenders:
-Daredevil
-Jessica Jones
-Luke Cage
-Iron Fist
Francisco Peralta booo
Hell yeah
Daredevil is a terrible lawyer
Phoenix Wright
@@senorPachuChay How, exactly...? I mean, his cases almost always go 100% his way and he's the Lawyer equivalent of The Doctor from Doctor Who because (and, this may be nostalgia blindness) his speeches are badass level 9000. You cannot get a better lawyer in the Marvel universe. Also, Jessica Jones is a Private Eye and Luke Cage is the Superhero equivalent of a Hitman. "Hero for hire" they call him. Neither of them are Lawyers nor Public defenders. Also, Iron Fist is a playboy millionaire.
I was a paralegal for a public defender in Minnesota. There is much truth to this. We barely had time to plea deal for each client.
John Oliver totally ROCKS! He is witty, intelligent and hysterically funny! Despite his claim to the contrary, the selected topics are excellent, real-news journalism. In the last year of streaming his show, I have learned more about the problems experienced in America, than I had in the last 20!! 👍👍
I'm facing the same viscous cycle in Texas and little do people know you are not eligible for a public defender in class C misdemeanor cases. So if I can't come up with $400.00 in 60 days I will be held in contempt. Since I have been diagnosed with a terminal condition I try not to think about it because the stress alone progresses my condition. The system is not broken, its set up just as planned. Threats, intimidation, and extortion.