Chicago DUI attorney thinks her clients don't need her, if they want to plea guilty right away

Dear Judges***:

I really, really like you.  I think you are smart, witty, respectful to those in your courts, and almost always just.  That said, recently I’ve noticed a distinct change in your demeanor on the bench.  It seems you’ve forgotten that you have the power.

You impact so many lives so broadly and so frequently, perhaps you forget.  It’s not the media that should have the power when lives hang in the balance.  It’s not those who seek to put forth their own special interest agenda that have the power.  It’s you.

You were elected, or appointed, because you wouldn’t be swayed from doing what was just, fair, and right.  You have caused many of my clients to shake in their boots because my client knew what you said, how you ruled, how you perceived them, could change their entire life. 

Please, please don’t ask me, on the very first court date, when the government has just put their case against my client in my hands (the Discovery) if I want to plea my client out on the very next court date.  It shocks the conscience and suggests that you’ve already decided, without hearing anything more than the charges against my client, that they are guilty. 

You wear the robes and you do have the power.




*** Yes, many of the judges know this plea, doesn't apply to them