Being a public defender can be stressful, particularly handling the level of cases I handle. I rarely see people who commit petty crimes. Nowadays, most of my clients have committed serious crimes. Many have committed various types of homicides. Most come from backgrounds of desperation. Reading the cases is depressing, if I let it be. Luckily, I have a rather dark sense of humor. The occasional, usually inadvertent humor keeps me going.

How can I not keep perspective when I read a transcript of an exchange with a struggling juror? Sometimes the inability of some attorneys to adapt to the educational level of the people with whom they deal is a catastrophe. Sometimes it�s just funny. I still picture the struggling juror, trying to make sense of the question, whose confusion provided this exchange:

ATTORNEY: Are you a member of any organized religion?

JUROR: Well, sir, I go to church regular sir but I ain�t NEVER been organized.

I know a few people for whom that answer would be a truly honest one.

The better amusements, though, come from my teenage clients who, despite committing arguably grown-up crimes, retain certain aspects of adolescence, particularly the dramatic part. How can I not cherish a letter that begins:

Dear Mrs. Philately,

I am a victim of society. How are you today?

Then, there are the poignantly funny moments. I have a seriously schizophrenic client, one of my mental health clients, who was once, years ago, a client of Mr. Philately, who is foot-and-a-quarter taller than me. When his psychiatrist was asked how seriously schizophrenic he was on a scale of one to ten, the doctor didn�t hesitate. �Eleven,� he answered. This client, severe as his problems were, had a sweet side. One day, after a long session in which we discussed his case, shyly said, �Do you mind if I ask you a question? It might be too personal.�

�Go ahead,� I told him. �If it�s too personal, I just won�t answer it?�

His voice became very low and very tentative. He looked at me nervously. �Mrs. Philately,� he began. �When did you become a woman?�*

I suppose someone who doesn�t understand would be appalled that I �make fun of my clients.� Humor, however, serves a purpose. While humor sometimes can distance, it also sometimes can provide perspective and remind us that we are all human.

I don�t apologize for finding humor in my job. Sometimes the humor is what keeps me going. And someone has to do this dirty job.

____

* Yes, I took pity on him, kept a straight face (boy, it�s good I�ve had kids to practice with), and explained that I�m married to Mr. Philately and we are not the same person. I didn�t even confuse him by explaining that Mr. Philately and I believe we share a brain (and some days it is all too obvious who has custody of it).

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