04.06.07
It’s Not Unusual…
It’s fairly common for me to see former clients in court, usually because they have picked up new charges or violated their probation. Most are sheepish when they see me, apologetic that they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Some are angry, convinced (and not always incorrectly) that their probation officer or the police are just out to get them. Some even ask if I can be their lawyer again, or if they can hire me. And that always gives me a nice little fuzzy (though the answer is no, unless I happen to be on duty when they are arraigned and I convince the court officers to put them on my list).
But today, I saw a client in court who was there to set up her system for random drug screens with probation. She was there on schedule, doing everything she was supposed to do. And she looked amazing. It took me a few seconds to register who she was when she called out my name and waved in the hallway. Since I last saw her - when she plead her case out, facing two more months in jail and a long period of probation - she has put on some much-needed weight and lost a huge amount of that horrible premature aging that so ravages women addicted to heroin. Her hair was dyed, her makeup was done, her clothes were neat and clean. And she was just…healthy. I had grown really fond of her over the course of my representation. She was always very well-spoken, very realistic about her case, and completely willing to take all responsibility for what she had done over a year before. And what she did was incredibly stupid, though it was born out of a want to truly do right by the people who had helped her out. But, as heroin is wont to do, her logic about wanting to thank those people got a little twisted, as the result was highly illegal. I was thrilled to see her looking so good and earnestly trying so hard. She seemed almost giddy to see me, smiling and thanking me and introducing me to her father like I was an old favorite teacher or something. It truly brightened an otherwise stressful arraignment day and I hope, with all my heart, that she continues on this same path.
when clients turn things around - a public defender - said,
April 6, 2007 at 9:20 pm
[…] It’s always heartening to read stories of clients that we help turning things around. The latest one comes from another MA pd blogger (no, I didn’t stumble upon this blog today, I’ve had my eye on it for a bit, but never got around to mentioning it), MissTyrios. But today, I saw a client in court who was there to set up her system for random drug screens with probation. She was there on schedule, doing everything she was supposed to do. And she looked amazing. It took me a few seconds to register who she was when she called out my name and waved in the hallway. Since I last saw her - when she plead her case out, facing two more months in jail and a long period of probation - she has put on some much-needed weight and lost a huge amount of that horrible premature aging that so ravages women addicted to heroin. Her hair was dyed, her makeup was done, her clothes were neat and clean. And she was just…healthy. I had grown really fond of her over the course of my representation. […]