“Gideon’s Army,” a Documentary on Public Defenders Premieres at Sundance

Public Defender Travis Williams in “Gideon’s Army”

I pay the highest respect to those public defenders- who work for low salaries, while paying off their law school debts, to defend the rights of the poor and downtrodden. These are the people who are the first line of defense for justice. Both public defenders and prosecutors are underpaid for the service they perform in our state; I know this firsthand having started my career as an Assistant State Attorney. I am looking forward to seeing this film: http://gideonsarmythefilm.com/

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/24/gideons_army_young_public_defenders_brave

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Gideon v. Wainwright decision, a case that originated here in Florida. That case established that those accused of serious crimes are entitled to be provided competent representation. It’s easy to dismiss the accused as mere criminals, but the public defenders that represent the accused help protect the rights that all of us enjoy, and are the last line of

defense for the wrongly accused.