Lawrence Joseph is a professor of law at St. Johns, a published poet who wrote three volumes and this (Lawyerland)
What kind of lawyer is Robinson?
Defense lawyer, who doesn't represent organized crime (i.e. those who can pay him a retainer) --> b/c he doesn't like being beholden to ppl
Tries not to do drug cases anymore, if he can help it
Been on both sides of the courtroom
Doesn't take court-appointed cases --> doesn't apply for fees under Criminal Justice Act; not letting judges set his fees.
His niche has become fully profitable; has no hours to put out doing CJA cases. Hard to make money doing CJA cases
All the above means that Robinson doesn't want any entanglements; wants cases that come and go (no relation to mob, drug cases, CJA). Wants to carve his own way
This is consistent w/ what he was like as a law student --> always been into doing it his way. Behind all this is the army, which he's not talking about
How does Robinson do the law?
Story about Assistant US Attorney --> When US Attorney told him to clean up his language, Robinson won the power play
He says he's a fucking vulgar guy, thereby asserting that he can say whatever he wants to say
Doesn't talk about trying cases
Time he practices law in the story: runs into younger lawyer and tells her she's too impatient. Advising her not to go too soon, that the opposition's case is weaker than it seems
That's his practice: negotiates deals w/ prosecutors. That's what the criminal justice system is about
He makes deals --> is a repeat negotiator
Chinese-Serbian burglary case
Prosecutor wants kid "dead" (in prison until there's nothing left of him)
Who's going to prosecute prosecutor from beating the kid? No one. He doesn't shoot kid b/c it would be bad for his reputation (readers of newspapers might be upset)
In truth Robinson is pointing out prosecutor could have killed the kid (as long as he doesn’t want to run for governor).
When Robinson gets the case, his problem is
That the state won't negotiate
Father won't bail kid out of Rikers -- being in is bad for the kid, and for Robinson.
Sidenote: we should go to jail now, see what they do in the criminal justice system
The kid's been massively over-indicted (which makes bargaining hard)
Robinson is doing this case b/c the kid's father has money (EM: is it okay that ppl make their money by taking it from the kin of the ppl who have fucked up?)
In Robinson's world you have to take the money from the people yourself (as opposed to working for Pfizer, where they will take the money from people and give it to you)
Robinson deals w/ the problems of his case by leveraging his knowledge of the affair between the judge and ADA
He waited until they over-fixed it
Robinson got the case by a referral. He found out from a client who was the focus of a pre-indictment investigation that didn't result in an indictment (he doesn't want to let anyone know about this client)
By even mentioning guy at all, he's sending a signal
In the end, the kid only does a year --> Robinson's proud of this job
Most ppl would have been tempted to let this kid get sent away. The attorney gets the fee no matter whether he wins or loses
For a living, Robinson persuades prosecutors
World of the lunch is his stage: jail, courtroom, courthouse, prosecutors, jail
Robinson is an expert on corruption. "I am a lawyer, I am never far from evil"
One of the reasons he's close to evil is the nature of his practice (also close to sliding into evil)
He's surrounded by criminals, police, etc
He's quoting Kafka
Kafka was a lawyer in the worker's comp system (being any kind of lawyer is always being close to evil, not just criminal law)
Robinson is undermining the proposition that it's only as a criminal defense lawyer he's always close to evil
Evil is in everyone. As a lawyer, you're trying to understand human nature.
One lawyer said that some of the kindest people he's ever known are rapists. There aren't just good guys and bad guys
Being a lawyer is being sensitized to the presence of all things in everybody
In the restaurant, he sees the illegal kid --> he sees the fear
He thinks about what it feels to be the ppl he represents in the course of the day. He's trying to catch what isn't being said
B/c the way of the conversation develops, you're compelled to compare it to Metamorphosis
To EM it feels like The Penal Colony, including its ultimately tragic understanding of the system
Who/what is Robinson becoming?
He's wound tight --> in danger of stroking out, has trouble breathing
Trying to look old school (not into flashy criminal defense --> doesn't dress up or down)
He's becoming old
He's not delighted by who he is; he too has a little pent up rage.
Keeps files on lawyers. Starts w/ "lawyers and greed" one.
Interlocutor (Joseph's voice) says when Robinson hands him the file he slumps. Joseph says he has seen that look in lawyers before. "I'd noticed this kind of transformation in lawyers before" (p. 2). Maybe that's Robinson's metamorphosis right there
Robinson believes he may love them too. Says America does, too: there's one in everyone's family now (the transformation will be in everyone's family)
There's another transformation = one going on everywhere
We make things happen using words, how can you not love us
Moot court story
Sign about Robinson --> his golden youth is behind him. Maybe it's eating him a little bit
Was hoping there would be a moment when there was exactly as many lawyers as ppl in jail
There might be a moment when there was one-to-one cross-over
EM imagines that idea came to him in the middle of a conversation w/ a piss-ant prosecutor
He imagines that b/c of imbalance; you have to be prepared to transform them back. Calls it a form of exacting justice
Would force the system to confront itself --> all the prisoners would have to confront what being the lawyer is, and all the lawyers would have to confront what being the prisoner is. It's a fairly gruesome experience for both
EMTs, sex workers, soldiers, criminal defense lawyers all have to disassociate, leave it behind them. That disassociated part sometimes does real harm (why Iraq veterans keep coming home and killing themselves)
I am lawyer I am never far from evil... but I have ways of disassociating from it
In Kafka's character is transformed into his loathing of himself, the displacement of all the feelings of rage and disempowerment. He becomes his own loathing of himself.
Robinson isn't there exactly, but he's also dealing w/ his displaced part
Robinson thinks everyone should know what the system is, but doesn't think the system can be changed
EM didn't like criminal defense, b/c he didn't like taking the house. Wanted to keep his skirts clean
Robinson would know what that was: class behavior
No one wants to be Robinson, but if we want to deal w/ increasing incarceration rates, somebody better be Robinson
A lawyer is a guy who solves a legal problem
The huge incarceration rates? That's a legal problem
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