Public Defender in Jail for Properly Representing His Client

The judge wanted this public defender to go to trial with less than a day of preparation and then jailed him when he refused. Instead of being an impartial third-party, the judge has the same pay master as the prosecutor:

A controversial Portage County judge has drawn the ire of national and state lawyers associations because he ordered the arrest of a county public defender. Judge John Plough ordered sheriff's deputies Wednesday to take Assistant Public Defender Brian Jones into custody because he was not prepared to go to trial.

He was held five hours before he was released on bond.

This is the second time Plough has ordered the arrest of a public defender, said Dennis Lager, the county's chief public defender. He said Plough also threatened to take similar action twice in 2006.

In each case, Lager said, Plough expected the lawyers to go to trial within a day or so of being assigned to the cases.