Defense Bar Underrepresented On Bench

The Real Gap In The Courts

With everyone from Justice Ginsburg to HW now praising Sotomayor, Kos diarist DParker notes a real gap on the bench:

Criminal defense attorneys don't get nominated to the bench.

Of the current Supreme Court justices, three have worked with the Federal Attorney General's Office and two with state Attorneys General. None have any criminal defense experience. Judge Sotomayor, with her prior work at the New York District Attorney's Office should fit right in.

...the result of having a bench with no one having experience defending alleged criminals is a trend toward interpreting the Constitution in favor of the State rather than the individuals it was written to protect.