Teodora Saulea - Let's talk about public defenders | People of Justice 2022 Iași

TThere's a widespread notion that the lawyers signed up in the court-appointed counsel program, meaning court-appointed attorneys, are among those who have the worst training, that they don't have rich clients, moreover, that they usually don't show interest and that the chances of winning of those represented are considerably lower. I am one of these attorneys and this notion bothers me. I know what this work implies and I am proud when such a file ends with a good result, because the gratitude of the beneficiaries is boundless; because, for them, it represented unexpected help.

I've been working at the Bacău Bar for about two and a half years. Returning to the town where I went to high school seemed like a demotion after I'd gotten my bachelor's degree in Cluj-Napoca and my master's degree in Bucharest. But I see it as a stroke of luck and an opportunity.

Since I'm a court-appointed attorney, I often meet people from vulnerable social classes who step on the stairs of a court for the first time. I meet people who make the sign of the cross when they enter the courtroom and who call me with a shaky voice every time they're called before the judge. For these people, we, court-appointed attorneys, are the first contact with the justice system.

Through us, they understand each step of the process: why they're under criminal investigation, why they're subpoenaed, and what a trial entails until the verdict is returned. We also have the role of explaining how the act of justice was reached and why the verdict is this way or that way. My family is the one who passed on their spirit of justice and benevolence. When I was a child, my mom was a court reporter in Podu Turcului, a town 100 km from Bacău, I would spend my afternoons with her at the office. I would walk through the halls of the new court and I felt just like in a palace. A palace where people in black and grey robes would reach verdicts about people's problems. My dad also worked in a court, without having a legal profession, but he's a man with a sense of justice and honesty that is rarely seen. He always reminds me not to overbill people, to be nice to them, because many of them are upset. He knows I don't do that and that I can't stand injustice either. He hears this every time I call him outraged after a difficult case. And I have difficult cases.

Just so you understand, the institution of court-appointed counsel was created to ensure that the rights and liberties of the people accused of committing a crime of a high degree of seriousness are respected. We're talking about burglary, rape, manslaughter, murder, and others. It's a role that exists in order to avoid the abuses of process and to eliminate the risk of an unjust sentencing. The ones benefiting from court-appointed counsel are underage persons investigated for a crime, those committed to a detention facility, those who have received a hospital order and those who could never defend themselves on their own. Also, court-appointed counsel is granted in a trial stage where the accused risks a prison sentence of over five years or more or a life sentence. And victims of crimes can also receive mandatory court-appointed counsel, but more rarely: when they are underage or when the judicial body deems fit. Throughout the years, I have helped the accused fulfil their duties, because, otherwise, they risked serving their sentence in prison. I have colleagues who have obtained acquittals, helping people fight accusations that were proven to be false.

It's possible that the association of the court-appointed attorney only with the presumed criminals and the restrictions on appointing a lawyer to the victims are some of the reasons why the public opinion is a bit outraged when it comes to our work. Sometimes, I hear that it's beneficial for the criminal, meaning a person who did something bad and that this isn't a warranted use of public funds.

However, from the very first file I worked on, I realised how helpless those who come before the court really are. How easily they can be subjected to injustice, how hard the access to justice seems to them, and how they sometimes leave the courtroom with the impression that they weren't listened to. They end up living in an uncertainty that leads to a strong state of fear and huge psychological stress. Let me tell you a story: not long ago, I represented a lady who had a conflict with her neighbours. Even though she called the police countless times, at one point, she was hit and she was told to go to court and get a protective order. So, the woman, who was almost 80 years old, got on a bus alone, travelled 60 kilometres to the city, filed a complaint in court and got back after two days for a hearing... All these, only for her complaint to be rejected, without any explanation. Moreover, she was forced to pay 1000 lei for her neighbours' lawyer's fees and 500 lei for my fees. Why? Because a public servant gave her wrong advice and told her to ask for a procedure that wasn't right for her situation. Protective orders are only given when the aggressive person is a member of the family.

Since I was a young intern that barely entered the profession, I was faced with explaining the situation to the lady. She felt she was wronged. She couldn't understand how it got to this, she couldn't understand what happened in the courtroom and why no one listened to her, the trial being over in less than eight minutes. I was also upset. It wasn't right that it got to this situation, but my role was to get her to understand that this was a one-off case. It got to this because of an error, the solution for her problem was different, so I explained to her what the next steps were. I know that it maybe wasn't enough.

The frustration was still there, but she understood why her approach wasn't right and why the judge's verdict was correct. He applied the law, even though this wasn't clear to her. That's how I understand my role: I'm an interface that helps the citizen make contact with the justice system and understand how the system works. For those who can't afford it, often, the court-appointed attorney can be a glimmer of hope. It's that person who, without self-interest, can help someone prove he's right. The body of professionals vaguely remembers our successes. A security guard actually told me in a police station that we only... That court-appointed attorneys only care about money. This way of thinking means that we forget the purpose of court-appointed counsel, meaning the defence of the citizen's rights, our rights.

I know I did my job, when something like a recent case where I got a protective order for a 74-year-old woman against her son happens. The old woman was in a situation which, unfortunately, is present quite often in our society. Her son had moved into her home in an abusive manner and was turning her life into a nightmare. He was verbally aggressive, he didn't take care of the house and of the assets for which the woman worked for over 40 years. At one point, he completely banned her from entering the house. She was forced to live with one of her daughters for a few months.

During this time, the woman was always stressed and it was hard for her to fight against her motherly heart. After her neighbours told her in what state the house and the backyard sheds were in due to her son she decided to file a complaint and demand his eviction through a protective order. So... She ended up on the halls of the court for the first time in her life, at an age where she should have been living her days quietly. She put her hope in me, a young lawyer, and she got the protective order she requested. Her joy when she found out the order was issued and her words and tears of gratitude are things that make me want to keep doing this.

There are many things to improve. For example, the situations in which the lawyer has 5 to 10 minutes at his disposal before the court sessions to study the file.

A simple change would be to give us, after being appointed to the case, the password to the electronic file, so that we also have time to see what's in the file. I understand that the bias against court-appointed lawyers is also based on the errors and inappropriate behaviour of some of us, because they do exist. But we can perfect this service through the creation of dedicated professional modules. And we can be vigilant when it comes to missteps, be it those of the lawyers or those of the judicial body, and take a stand. I am now a proper lawyer and I will continue to work in court-appointed counsel, because I feel it's a kind of responsibility.

We are responsible in front of those who come in contact with the judicial system, perhaps, for the first time, those who, without their will, have misconceptions such as those that say that the justice in our country is not justice. We have the responsibility to show them how and why the law was applied, to make them understand and do our job as lawyers to achieve justice.

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The People of Justice 2022 shows were produced alongside Decât o Revistă, a team of journalists who believe in the transformational power of stories.

Together with over 1,000 viewers, we imagined what a more just Romania could look like through vulnerability, empathy and the power of example. In each city we brought on stage lawyers, journalists, civic activists and artists whose true stories about justice: how we achieve it, what it means for justice, education, the healthcare system or our cities.