Equal Protection of the Law

Here’s the deal (as our Vice-President is fond of saying):

Every defendant in any criminal trial in the U.S. may have representation in the courtroom by only one attorney: the legal counsel appointed him, by lot, from the Office of the Public Defender.

Oh, and attorneys in said office must be paid on the same (average) salary scale that pertains to the lawyers in the nearest offices of the two largest private law firms in the country.

Now, go ahead and do your worst, budget-cutters, in stripping the courts of the means of functioning properly. At least we’re all equal in the eyes of the law, now.