The man in charge of defending indigent citizens in the criminal justice system of one of America’s blackest cities has been accused of filling his office with racists who toss around the n-word like it’s 1799...or 1899...or, well, it’s Alabama, so 1999, too.
David Luker was appointed as the Jefferson County Public Defender in 2016, only four years after the office was created “to serve people who cannot afford legal representation in the Criminal Courts of the Birmingham Division of Jefferson County.” The office that serves a city that is 72 percent black.
According to WBRC, aside from his astounding lack of eyelashes, eyebrows, and other eye-adjacent hair, Luker has been accused of a lack of decorum. Employees at the department headed by Blinky have been accused of using the n-word multiple times to refer to the people he is supposed to defend. In a letter, a group of attorneys from Luker’s office charged that he was basically racist Matlock, repeatedly engaging in the “indiscriminate use of racial slurs” that occurred “publicly and during work hours.”
WBRC reports:
WBRC has obtained a letter signed by several attorneys in the Public Defender’s Office that say on more than one occasion Luker “has used racially hostile language including but not limited to “n****r” when talking about our clients, their families, witnesses, and generally when expressing his displeasure.”
The letter also says Luker has hired other personnel including supervisors with similar views.
Wait...so he called everybody a nigger? Aside from clients, families, and witnesses, who else is there for him to be “generally expressing his displeasure” about besides the court judges, Jesus and my aunt Earline?
Also, how do you recruit supervisors with “similar views”? Does Trump University have a law school? Is racism under the “special skills” section of the resume? Is there a box for “bigot” on the application? Or does one simply write on the cover letter, “Experienced attorney with a hatred for melanin and love of the Confederacy seeking to increase disparities in the criminal justice system”?
The signers of the letter noted that “because of the unique and pivotal role the Public Defenders office plays in our community, coupled with the inability of an indigent client to choose an attorney, these racially derogatory views carry far more weight than similar views held by a private attorney.”
On Thursday, a three-member board began investigating the claims. The investigation will be headed by former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Ralph Cook, who is black. The Alabama Department of Finance, which oversees the Alabama Indigent Defense Board, hopes the investigation will be concluded by March 1.
Luker has not responded to the charges, which is understandable considering how he reportedly voices his “displeasure.”