The Color of Law by Mark Gimenez

field.”
    “Y’all were good friends?”
    Scott nodded. “Yeah. He was a great guy.”
    “Is he dead?”
    “No…I don’t think so.”
    “Why aren’t y’all friends anymore?”
    Scott shrugged. “He went off to play pro ball. I went to law school. We lost touch.”
    She nodded. “So the only reason you don’t have black clients is because you don’t represent people, only corporations.”
    “Exactly.”
    She pointed at the book. “What’s next?”
    Scott read again: “‘To be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation,’ which means to be told the crime you’re charged with.”
    “Murder, that’s the crime your prostitute is charged with.”
    “Yes.” Reading again: “‘To be confronted with the witnesses against him.’ That means the prosecution must put the witnesses on the stand in court to testify against the defendant. ‘To have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.’ That means you can call witnesses to help you.”
    “Your prostitute can get people to say she didn’t do it.”
    “Right. If she can find anyone. And to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.’”
    “What’s counsel?”
    “A lawyer.”
    “Your prostitute has a right to a lawyer?”
    “Yes, she does.”
    “Even if she can’t pay you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “Why what?”
    “Why does she get you for free when everyone else has to pay you three hundred and fifty dollars an hour?”
    “Well, George Washington and the other Founding Fathers…you know about them?” She nodded. “Well, they didn’t think it would be fair for the government to charge someone with a crime but not give him a lawyer to defend him.”
    “Because he might be innocent and if he didn’t have a lawyer to prove he’s innocent, he might still go to jail.”
    “Exactly…well, the lawyer doesn’t have to prove him innocent, the government’s got to prove him guilty. And that’s the lawyer’s job, Boo, to make the government prove the defendant’s guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.”
    “So the government proved your prostitute is guilty?”
    “Not yet. And she’s not
my
prostitute, Boo. She’s my client.”
    “But you wanted her to cop a plea, say she’s guilty.”
    “Yes, to confess that she did it.”
    “So the government wouldn’t have to prove she’s guilty.”
    “Right.”
    “Then why does she need you?”
    Scott chuckled. “Well, I’m supposed to, uh…I mean, the court appoints a lawyer so she, uh…Well, the Bill of Rights says she has a right to a lawyer even if she’s guilty and decides to confess. To make sure the rules are followed.”
    “And the judge appointed you to make sure the rules are followed for her?”
    “Yes, but she doesn’t want to confess. She wants to go to trial, so I hired her out.”
    She frowned. “Explain.”
    “I hired an old law school buddy to take her case to trial.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m too busy.”
    “You’re too busy to make the government prove she’s guilty?”
    “Yes. So I’m paying a friend to do it for me.”
    “Like if I hired a friend to do my homework?”
    “Exactly…well, no, not exactly. You’ve got to do your own homework, Boo.”
    “Why?”
    “Because that would be cheating.”
    “But it’s not cheating if you’re a lawyer?”
    “Yes…well, no. I mean…it’s complicated, Boo.”
    She pointed at the book. “Does that Sixth Amendment have one of those things, what did you call it, a pro…prov…”
    “Proviso?”
    “Yeah, a proviso.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “A proviso that if the lawyer’s real busy, you don’t have a right to a lawyer?”
    “No. But you don’t have the right to a particular lawyer, just a lawyer.”
    “Any lawyer?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Even a bad lawyer?”
    Scott shrugged. “Yeah.”
    “Is your friend a good lawyer or a bad lawyer?”
    “Well…I don’t really know.”
    “Is he as good as you?”
    Scott smiled. “No.”
    “So the judge appointed you as her