S.C. Inmate Objects to Female Lawyer; State Supreme Court Clerk: Get Over It

Ellen Barshevsky
Oct 31, 2008 5:00 AM CST

Can you IMAGINE?  This jerk is getting FREE services and he Complains that he doesn’t know the WOMAN and wants a MAN to be his lawyer.

This is ridiculus.  Thank goodness the STATE told him to get lost.  It is good to do PRO Bono Work, but when you get ungratful losers like this one, it is NOT fun. 

When my boyfriend and I went to the Coat Drive, we met LOTS of deserving people who were gratful when we gave them a COAT.  Needless to say, I would NOT give this person a coat, unless he was cold.

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Ronnie
Oct 31, 2008 6:58 AM CST

If he doesn’t want a female lawyer for religious reasons, he is more than welcome to represent himself.  However, if he needs to have one assigned, his personal beliefs take a logical backburner.  I’m sure muslims also aren’t supposed to do things that land them in jail either, so in that case he can’t pick and choose when he follows his religious convictions.

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morfum
Oct 31, 2008 7:32 AM CST

#3 - you’re very wrong when you say that Sharia doesn’t allow females to represent.

Sharia law is not monolithic and has many variations, depending on country, culture, and sect. I would imagine that only a small handful of Muslim countries (ie present-day Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan under the Taliban) prohibit female counsels. The rest of the Muslim world has females bar-members; a noteworthy example is Iran’s Shirin Ebadi, who, before the Iranian revolution was a judge and, since being banned from that post, is defense counsel for high-profile political detainees and others, which lead to her 2003 Nobel Peace prize award.
Ignorance is not bliss, #3

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Heidi O
Oct 31, 2008 10:06 AM CST

Obviously James, whose original comment was removed, has no clue.

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NativeNewYorker
Oct 31, 2008 1:49 PM CST

What does Sharia law (Fiqh) have to do with the fact that inmate is certainly full of himself and needs to check is ego at the door.  “Muslim”, your information is flawed. “Morfum” is correct, and I request that you cease spreading inaccurate information about Islamic topics.  There is enough of that already on the internet.

Does the inmate also want a Sleep Number Bed and Chilean Sea Bass for dinner?

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That Guy
Nov 1, 2008 1:07 PM CST

One can’t reasonably judge the inmate’s request here without knowing the nature of the case in which he is involved.  His request for a male attorney may be based on something other than sexism, perhaps he stands accused of rape for example and is uncomfortable describing the nature of his alleged crime to a female, or feels that she will defend him inadequately due to a malice she may have against rapists.  Again, rape is merely an example here of why an inmate may not desire a female attorney, other than sexism; Know that most inmates are completely rational individuals that committed a crime absent intent, they merely found themselves in a predicament and responded unreasonably, that does not mean that they responded irrationally.    There is a difference.

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Someone
Nov 3, 2008 3:53 PM CST

I can tell you from the letter that this is a Post-Conviction Relief matter, not a criminal prosecution.

And for those that claim someone may not be “comfortable” talking to their FREE attorney about rape, and not treating them as inferior, that’s crap. How about the inmate treating the attorney as inferior for being female?

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