By Chris Adams, NACDL President
August issue of The Champion
Looking in the mirror, she fidgeted with her hair for the final time. The van was pulling into the residential drug treatment facility to take her to the first day of work at an automobile factory. As she stepped into the van, she was unsure of what lay ahead.
Twenty-one months later, Britney Hodge has earned promotions at work, recently graduated from a federal drug court program, and has her own home. Due to her strength and resiliency, and the contributions of the committed drug court team, Britney has been able to battle a lifetime of trauma and a decade of addiction. Once, the mirror showed a scared, out-of-control addict, but now the mirror shows a woman with emerging confidence, who laughs easily and smiles freely. She now has a future that was unimaginable two years ago.
As criminal defense lawyers, we are successful when our clients are in a better place at the close of our representation than they were in at the start of our representation. As Britney’s criminal defense lawyer, it is rewarding to have played a small role in her story.
Timothy Taylor joins Britney and me on the cover of The Champion. He made a mistake as a young adult when he was a getaway driver in a robbery. He paid in full his debt to society by pleading guilty and successfully completing his state court sentence. After getting out of prison, he became a father and started a car repair business. When a family member was accused by a prison informant of being involved in an unrelated crime, federal prosecutors charged Timothy for the same conduct that gave rise to the state prosecution as a way to squeeze him into cooperating in the unrelated investigation.
In a double jeopardy case last year in the U.S. Supreme Court, the solicitor general argued against changing the separate sovereigns doctrine by pointing out how rarely the government exercises its discretion in prosecuting someone who has already been prosecuted in state court. This was of little comfort to Timothy, who was the third person targeted with a successive prosecution in five years in Charleston.
Timothy’s mother did a spectacular job in mobilizing the civil rights community in support of Timothy. The courtroom of predominantly African American spectators erupted with cheers and a standing ovation when the federal judge sentenced Timothy to time served.
The third person invited to join the cover shoot was Tevin Glover. I will save his story for the conclusion.
As I began thinking about my first column to you as the 62nd president of NACDL, my plan had been to start with a story of an acquittal or dismissal. However, as the deadline approached, my thoughts kept coming back to the wonderful, dear men and women who have afforded me the honor of representing them in the criminal court, many of whom were not acquitted.
I have lots stories of acquittals — many of which are true. But I felt that focusing this article on clients who won acquittals would be too narrow. It would exclude the men and women who bravely went to trial and lost. Like a client in a strip club murder-for-hire who would be free today had he agreed to cooperate against his father. A piece focusing only on acquittals would exclude the many who have taken deals and are currently in prison waiting to come home one day to loved ones. And it would exclude the many clients, like Britney and Timothy, who have done the hard work in job training, counseling, and other programs to find a path to a better future.
As a young public defender, I viewed myself as a “cause” lawyer. Cross-examining a police officer filled me with joy. When I gravitated to capital defense work, the cause sharpened focus as we dreamed of ending the death penalty in this country. Yet Steve Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights taught us at death penalty conferences that we were the modern-day version of the Underground Railroad, and our job was to safely take care of one person at a time. “Get that human being safely to the other side and then go back to help the next person.” Steve was right. It is the human connections and their stories — the stories of Britney, Timothy, and Tevin — that stick with and sustain me as a criminal defense lawyer.
As we approach the upcoming year, we have clear challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Anthony Fauci are crystal clear about the lethal danger COVID-19 presents. If trials resume before researchers develop a vaccine, people will die. Criminal defense lawyers and clients will not be spared.
Most judges that I have interacted with since mid-March have indefinitely continued jury trials and have been working to reduce jail populations. There is a realization that criminal trials should be continued until researchers create a vaccine.
However, at the time this column is being written, some state courts in Oregon are conducting jury trials. A federal court in Dallas recently completed a trial. The federal court in the Western District of North Carolina is planning to resume jury trials in the coming week. And other jurisdictions are making plans to follow suit.
On June 2, 2020, NACDL issued a report on “Criminal Court Reopening and Public Health in the COVID-19 Era.” The report comes on the heels of a May 2020 study that found that 74 percent of prospective jurors who were summoned in New York were concerned about their safety. Apparently, 74 percent of prospective jurors listen to Dr. Fauci and find him credible.
Who are the remaining 26 percent of prospective jurors not concerned for their safety? Assuming that prospective jurors who are concerned about their health will be excused for cause, how will the remaining prospective jurors represent a fair, diverse cross-section?
Plexiglass retrofitting of courtrooms does not protect jurors, litigants, or court personnel from the potentially lethal airborne virus. Plexiglass may stop spittle, but it does not stop the airflow in an enclosed space over a period of time. Plexiglass will, however, interfere with a lawyer’s ability to communicate confidentially with clients.
Assuming a defendant agrees to a continuance, it is difficult to understand the rationale for the few courts that are currently holding jury trials. It is as if these few judges who are pushing ahead with jury trials either reject the scientific consensus or are more concerned with moving their dockets than they are with ensuring the safe and fair trial for human beings charged with crimes.
NACDL will be here to assist you as you litigate against the premature reopening of courtrooms and for the safety of your clients.
In addition to the pandemic, police violence against African Americans continues to threaten the fabric of our society. As of the writing of this column, protests continue to emanate from the callous and tragic death of George Floyd. Although a few cabinet members in the current administration deny the existence of systemic racism, the large majority of Americans disagree. According to a June 2, 2020, Monmouth poll, 76 percent of Americans believe that racism and discrimination are big problems in our country.
We know that systemic racism is the big problem in the criminal justice system. Three years ago, NACDL changed its mission statement to make clear that it exists to “redress … systemic racism.” After the deaths in Minneapolis, Louisville and Atlanta, a majority of the country favors change. In the months ahead, we shall see if the nation may be finally ready to meaningfully reform the criminal justice system.
This upcoming year may provide the opportunity on the state and national levels to achieve a reform agenda unlike any in the past 50 years. It is time for a police accountability database so that rogue law enforcement officers are not able to hide by changing departments. It is time to end the militarization of police departments. It is time to end the criminalization of poverty. It is time to advance alternatives to incarceration that help an accused individual while also promoting the safety of the community. It is time to show that black lives matter. It is time.
Tevin Glover faced multiple robbery charges, including bank robbery and related gun charges. He was accused of committing these robberies with his cousins. The government witness list included six cooperators, two of whom were his cousins. As the trial approached, I took the government’s final, best offer to Tevin. He told me to “believe” and he said that “everything will be all right because I’m innocent.” He was right.
Ten months after his acquittal, Tevin became a father. A few months later, Tevin and his significant other had a party for family and close friends to meet their new son, T’mauri. There was assigned seating. As my son and I clumsily searched for our seats among unfamiliar faces, it was awesome to see from across the room Tevin’s big smile as he waved my son and me to our seats, which were at the head table between Tevin and his mom. It was an honor to sit next to this courageous man.
Due to his son’s cold, Tevin was unable to join the photo shoot for The Champion cover. He called me several times to apologize and asked if his picture could be included. He said it was important that he be included because he needs “to tell all the defense lawyers how valuable your hard work is to the people and families that you fight for.”
I am so excited to work with you this year. Let us stay safe. On behalf of Britney, Timothy, Tevin and all the men and women that we fight for, let us change this criminal justice system for the better.
About the Author
After spending 15 years as a public defender and nonprofit lawyer, Chris Adams (NACDL LIFE MEMBER) opened his private practice in 2007. He devotes half of his practice to defending men and women facing the death penalty in federal and state courts throughout the country. He also defends people and businesses facing allegations or investigations in federal and state courts.
© 2020, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The Champion magazine and is reprinted with permission.
