lapin_windstar

1) I have no idea what you're talking about when you say "one is an entry level position, and one is a career". Neither is an entry level position.

I didn't average to average and starting to salary for public defender and teachers in MA because I couldn't be bothered looking for the exact data (be my guest), and because if the average teacher's salary is $1,000 below the starting trooper's salary then it's self-evident that the starting teacher's salary is going to be below that, and that was enough for making the (hardly earth-shatteringly deep) point I was making. Obviously.

2) I agree that police aren't likely to be restrained much by the recent court decision (or as we like to call it, the law), that dog sniffs are bullshit, and that abuse of process is a daily thing for some people.

rivit

So let's get back to the BBW, i'm still waiting for pics.

rivit

The NH state troopers have voice activated computers in their cars, it was developed at UNH and is called (and i sh*t you not), "The car 54 programme"

crg

Many lawyers merely cut their teeth in the public defenders office and then move onto other things once they get experience. Others see it as a rewarding civic duty. It's expected that they take a lower salary for the experience. Some parochial school teachers make less than someone at Burger King, but that doesn't make then unqualified.

The dogs are quite accurate. I suspect some cops may merely claim that the dog hit on the car, but if the dog really hits, there is or was dope there.

lapin_windstar

LOL - I can hear the squeals of you backpedalling from here.

Just because some lawyers work somewhere else after working as Public Defenders doesn't mean that being a Public Defender isn't a career and is just an entry level position. You wouldn't say that being a Prosecutor is an entry level position because plenty of them go off to become private sector criminal lawyers (often not very good ones). (BTW, prosecutors are paid more than public defenders, generally speaking).

Apart from the bleeding obviousness of that point, think about it logically for a second: there are different levels of seniority for Public Defenders (I believe the source I linked to above details some salaries up the scale too). How can multiple levels of seniority all be a starting position?

But you're just proving my point here, actually - that much of the carping about how cops get paid too little doesn't stand up when compared to other, more highly qualified, less well-paid public servants. Why do people only suggest that nurses, teachers and social workers should accept lower salaries and be motivated by public duty and not cops, sanitation workers and prison guards? (I think the answer is obvious).

AdobePinon

Neither one is a career for most attorneys. They do it long enough to get some experience and a few references, then they mostly bugger off into something more profitable.

crg

There is no backpedaling. You compared an average salary with a starting salary and tried to slip that through like it was an apples to apples comparison. Did you actually think nobody would call you on that?

I never said cops don't get paid enough. Also the nurses, and teachers get paid quite well where I have lived. A first year public defender makes $46k in NYC. A first year cop in the NYPD makes $41k. A starting teacher makes $45.5k and $51.5k with a masters.

And who said all NYC public school teachers are all highly qualified?

In some locations the salary for a public defender ranges from $45 to $135k. However, it's the supervisor that gets the $135k. They all can't be supervisors and some public defender offices have high turnover.

I'm not bothered by this. An accused who can't afford a lawyer is not entitled to have Johnnie Cocharan represent them for free.

scrubbedexpat091

10 years driving in the US and never received a ticket, not hard to avoid getting them.

cluedweasel

You know that's the kiss of death don't you