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luber: hey everyone � ml here � todayon jd careers out there we�re looking at what it�s like to be a public defender,so stick around. [theme song] alright � today�s guest is travis williams � he�s a publicdefender in gainesville, ga who is so committed his work that if he loses a case, he getshis client�s name tattooed on his back! travis is featured in the powerful documentaryfilm �gideon�s army�, which is being featured on hbo at the time of this recording.if you haven�t already seen the film, i highly recommend it � and i also suggestwatching the video clip above that�s featuring travis � and if you�re on youtube we�lllink to it right next to me. as you may already know, at jdcot we help you find and succeedin fulfilling careers using a law degree � by

exploring career paths both in and out oflaw. today, we�re exploring the path of being a public defender, so let�s meet travisand get started. travis, welcome to jdcot! travis: thanks for having me. luber: thank you for being here. i�m reallyglad you�re here, travis. i saw you on the daily show when they were profiling �gideon�sarmy� and they showed a scene of your working the courtroom and i was so impressed withyour performance, i really wanted you to come on the show for the benefit of our audienceso they could all learn about being a public defender. so i�m really glad you�re here- and amongst other things, i�m going to ask you to tell us about a typical day, whomakes the right fit for this kind of path

as far as skill sets and personality types,how to break in and how to succeed at this. but let�s start with the basics first. tellus this, what does a public defender do? travis: a public defender is a criminal defenseattorney that represents people that are charged with criminal offenses of all kinds from misdemeanorsto death penalty work. and what separates a public defender from just a run-of-the-millcriminal defense attorney is that public defenders, we represent people that can�t afford tohire their own counsel. the united states constitution guarantees it; it was solidifiedin many rulings and we represent that promise of effective representation for somebody whocan�t afford to hire their own counsel. luber: now, is there a typical fact patternor scenario that you tend to deal with time

and again? let�s get a feel for what yousee in the course of your job. travis: i handle a lot of level 1 felonies,whether it be rape, child molestation, murder, and that�s a sizeable chunk of my caseloadbut i also have possession of a drug related object all the way down to reckless conductby an hiv person. so you run into any wide range but it�s usually some attorneys thatare designated to handle some of the more serious cases. luber: interesting. so i�ve got to ask youthis question, because we asked this of private criminal defense attorney, joey jackson, who�salso a cnn legal commentator. and we asked him the same kind of question which is, whenyou�re defending people who did something

like rape, how do you get through that whenthere�s people in the room who have been hurt by this person, there�s family memberswho are crying and devastated and their lives have been affected and you�re taking theside�.you�re helping the person who�s the bad person, right? so how is it that youget through that emotionally and handle that vibe in the room when you have these peoplelooking at you, probably hating you? travis: well, you know, that�s interestingbecause i�m sure there�s people that see me represent somebody charged with child molestationand they might make the illogical jump that i�m pro-child molestation and i�m absolutelynot. i�m not pro rape, i�m not pro child molestation; i�m pro constitution. and somy job is to defend this person�s constitutional

rights come hell or high water and everythingin-between. sometimes it does get uncomfortable when you�re in a room full of people andthe first thing they hear is what your guy is charged with and they automatically havea negative opinion about you or about them. and sometimes it gets uncomfortable - butgenerally, you just pray that people keep an open mind and do your best to fight foryour client. but more than anything, i recognize that my allegiance, although it is to thisclient, to the bounds of the ethical rules, it really is above, first and foremost tothe constitution. so regardless of what this person is charged with, i got to do what ican to preserve this idea of liberty and justice and these rights that we talk about but sometimestake for granted.

luber: alright, if you�re on youtube, pleasegive us the thumbs up if this was helpful. to see the full interview with travis, visitus at jdcot.com. you�ll hear lots more about what it�s like to be a public defender,how you can break in and how you can succeed. if you�re already at the site, scroll downto the full video. make sure you join our membership so you get access to all of thecareer path videos, the professional development advice videos, and lots more. thanks againfor watching everybody � and don�t forget to see �gideon�s army�. i�m ml andi�ll see ya soon.