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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

I Am a Public Defender

By Andrea Delbanco

Alexander Shalom, 31, is a public defender in Newark, New Jersey. He spoke with TFK's Andrea Delbanco.

I have always liked to argue. I do it so often that I'm good at it. Most of my arguments aren't with my family about what's for dinner or with my friends about what movie to see. I do my arguing in court, fighting for fairness and for people's rights. It's my job as a public defender.

I attended New York University Law School. After graduating, I got a job with the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. It is the state's highest court. Now, I work as a lawyer for the state of New Jersey. I represent people who are charged with a crime and do not have the money to pay for a lawyer. I help defendants tell their side of the story.

The legal system is complicated. Sometimes, it sounds as if people in a courtroom are talking in another language. Lawyers know this language, and they know how the justice system works.

People haven't always been guaranteed the right to a lawyer. Before 1963, if you couldn't pay for a defense attorney, you didn't get any government help at all. That changed when the Supreme Court ruled that if you are charged with a crime, you have the right to an attorney, even if you can't pay for one. Since that important decision, public defenders have done this job. It's one of the ways our country tries to make sure that the justice system is equal for everyone. I am proud to be part of the process.

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