Public Defender

Public Defender was the final doc I was able to screen at the Festival. It tells the story of a public defense attorney based in Washington D. C. who has elected to defend the cases of the January 6 insurrectionists. Heather Shaner has spent over 40 years defending people who can't afford an attorney. She believes everyone is entitled to a trial. She was formerly a social worker and wants to not only see the best in people, but to educate them on how to be better human beings.

You may leave the film as incensed as I was, by the way in which the defendants are taught by Shaner to manipulate the Court to receive the least amount of prison time - if they actually get any significant sentence at all. After their trials, one defendant appears to remain somewhat ambivalent regarding Trump's actual loss of the race, even though that was part of their plea for leniency. Perhaps this is the point of the doc, to elicit a reaction, to promote discussion. Heather believes her clients are "not a danger to society". Well, that remains to be seen. The doc is well made, Heather's clients are well represented by the filmmakers, they're allowed to speak their piece. Heather believes that the person who is actually responsible for provoking the insurrection has yet to be held accountable, and that negligence of the rule of law should anger us all, regardless of party. But that does not excuse the actions of the January 6th insurrectionists, who, according to one of her clients, might actively participate once again.