During his Fox News appearance on Sunday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) said that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and other public defenders root for criminals because “their heart is with the murderers.”
Ted Cruz engages in a strange and liar-filled rant about public defenders
“Public Defenders have an inclination to support the criminal.”
It is important to remember that every American enjoys constitutionally guaranteed legal representation. pic.twitter.com/wg0hvwwydV
— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) April 4, 2022
She graduated from law school and clerked at Justice Breyer’s Supreme Court office. Cruz explained that Cruz was her federal public defender. Cruz said, “And we both have known public defenders. Because their hearts are with criminal defendants, people go to that. Because their heart is in the right place, they root for criminal defendants. A lot of the same reasons people go and become prosecutors—because they want to lock up bad guys—public defenders often have a natural inclination in the direction of the criminal. That inclination wasn’t just something she had as a public defense attorney, it was also what she brought to her bench seat.
The adversarial justice system relies on the defense lawyers making sure that the government can prove its case, and meets a heavy burden of proof. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel to make sure everyone—the unpopular, the poor, and yes, even the guilty—has the benefit of a dogged defense against the government’s power to relieve them of their liberty and property.
Cruz and other conservatives should be open to this skeptical view of government power. But he, Sens. Tom Cotton (R–Ark.), Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.), and Josh Hawley (R–Mo.Jackson used Jackson’s confirmation hearing as a means to Demagoguery, grandstandabout her representation of Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
As Charles Cooke Notes over at National ReviewWe could conclude, according to Cruz’s logic that Cruz is naturally inclined toward banning Dildos. He was the state solicitor-general and argued for Texas’ ban on sex toys sales.
Cruz could argue and has argued that he was only doing what he had to in order to do his job which was defend Texas Legislature laws. This line is often used by state attorney generals when they feel it is convenient. Kamala Harris Vice President, though saying that she opposes death penalty. California execution protocol defenseAs state attorney general she cited her duty to protect her client.
It is not clear whether state attorney generals have an ethical obligation to defend unjustified or unconstitutional law in the same manner that a defense lawyer must represent their client. The more complex and difficult question is still unanswered. Harris was able to find the political courage and ignore her duties when she decided to oppose Prop 8 which prohibited same-sex marriage in California. Harris said, “It’s within my rights as elected attorney general that I use the discretionary authority of my office to determine how our resources will be used and which issue we will address or not.” .
The public defenders can’t choose not to represent a client if it is a political risk. They are an integral part of the court system.
Ted Cruz attended an Ivy League Law School and worked as a Supreme Court Justice clerk. While he has all the facts, Ted Cruz is a sloppy person. He uses his U.S. Senate seat to rant about the inconsistencies. It is an embarrassment.