When There is Only One Public Defender in Town
Rhonda Covington is short on time.
As the only public defender for the 20th Judicial District of Louisiana, she could be investigating cases, calling witnesses, scouring through evidence, taking photos at crime scenes (with her own camera), meeting with her clients’ families, writing motions, typing up pleadings, making appointments, answering the phones, answering the door, getting the mail at the post office, filling in timesheets, filing monthly reports, doing the accounting, paying the rent and utilities, cleaning the bathroom, dusting the furniture, sweeping and mopping the floors, taking out the trash, trimming the bushes, unclogging the plumbing, buying the toilet paper, or meeting with everyone arrested in a thousand-square-mile area just north of Baton Rouge, within 72 hours of their arrest.
“There are days,” she says, “when I feel that I could literally scream to the top of my lungs for 10 minutes.”
Every Wednesday, she makes an all-day trip to the infamous Angola prison to meet with clients.
Every other night, she visits inmates at the local jail.
Every weekend, she works.
She also appears in court almost daily, where she handles all types of cases — juvenile and adult, misdemeanor and felony.