NATIONAL GROUP HONORS EL PASO PUBLIC DEFENDER

The flood of cases just keeps cresting for El Paso federal public defender
Elizabeth "Liz" Rogers and her legal team, who defend people charged with
federal crimes but who are too poor to hire lawyers.

A crackdown on illegal drugs and illegal immigration has resulted in about
six new cases in their files every day. Rogers' office of 15 lawyers
defends about 180 cases a year -- more than double the national average for
public defenders.

That caseload, along with a fair share of success, has earned Rogers
recognition as Outstanding Assistant Federal Defender of the year by the
Association of Federal Defenders. She was one of three public defenders
selected from about 1,200 nationwide.

The honor belongs to the office, Rogers said. She speaks of the lawyers and
investigators working for her like a mother swelling with pride in her
children.

"I get all this recognition when it's not me. It's working with these
people of this high quality -- people with impeccable values and ethics,"
she said. 'She cares that much'

But the caseload never slows. Rogers has been a public defender for more
than 15 years and supervisor of the El Paso office since 1987, when only
342 cases were filed. More than 2,000 are expected this year.

"That's the weary part," Rogers said. "We get no breather. ... We just feel
like we are drowning. That's how we mainly feel."

In addition to quantity, observers were impressed with the quality of the
El Paso office.

Rogers stands out because she and her staff consistently give indigent
defendants "a million-dollar defense," El Paso attorney Carlos "Charlie"
Villa said.

"I've seen her plead to a judge and jury. She literally breaks down and
cries because she cares that much for her clients," Villa said. "We're
talking about people who otherwise could not afford a lawyer."

Legal issues "are not just cases. These are people," said Ray Caballero, a
former federal prosecutor who later became a successful criminal defense
and plaintiff's lawyer.

For defendants accused of a crime, "that case is the most important case in
the world," Caballero said. "To be a good lawyer, you have to feel that.
Liz feels that, and she communicates that with the client and she
communicates that with the jury."

Against stacked odds

Public defenders have a tough job because the odds are stacked high against
their clients, Caballero said, because the inclination of jurors is to
think "guilty," considering that a defendant has been arrested and indicted.

"So when a defendant walks in dressed in a jail suit and you are standing
there and the United States of America is against you and there's the big,
old federal judge and the flag is flying, the job of a defense lawyer is
just getting a jury to be open to the idea that the person might be
innocent," Caballero said.

Federal trials allow little flexibility in the selection of jurors, Rogers
said: "The laws are there to help convict. To win in a jury trial in
federal court is just a big deal."

And 1999 was a very good year for El Paso's public defender office. Lawyer
Robert Casteneda won nine of 10 jury trials, and his frequent partner, Anne
Berton, won eight of 10.

One year ago, El Paso public defenders Darren Ligon and Miguel Torres faced
an especially tough case with defendant Chrystle McGee, who was charged
with importing 246 pounds of marijuana. The woman had no knowledge that her
boyfriend's car contained the drugs -- and she faced five to 40 years in
federal prison. McGee was found not guilty and now is a member of the U.S.
Army.

Drug runners, setups

About 80 percent of the cases involve illegal drugs, Rogers said.

"You don't know how many people get arrested every day who are not in it
for the money, or who have no way to know," she said. "These are real
people crossing this bridge for real valid reasons who get set up."

Someone might get asked to do a simple favor, Rogers said: "I've got to
move another car, and you take this one, and I'll meet you over at
Bennigan's. And they're not offering any money, so you don't have a way to
know."

However, public defenders will routinely plead cases involving a defendant
busted for illegal drugs if they were paid to drive a vehicle across an
international bridge, she said.

Anyone offered $400 to drive a car across the bridge should be suspicious,
she said.

The saddest cases involve those when someone pays $400 to drive a car
across the bridge with a warning that it contains 5 pounds of marijuana --
and with assurances that the driver will only get probation if caught.

"And then it turns out to be 20 kilos of cocaine. Those are 10-to-life
cases," Rogers said. "All day long in our community there's a huge number
of people who need the money and who are willing to take the risks -- and
they're off to prison."

Prosecutors meet match

It's difficult to win criminal cases in federal court because federal
prosecutors have the power of the U.S. government behind them, including
powerful agencies such as the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration,
Villa said.

But federal prosecutors always meet their match when they face Rogers and
her staff, Villa said: "They know they will be in a very hard fight. ...
She's well prepared. She knows her case, knows her facts. She's able to
sniff out the weakest part in the government's case and find the softest
area and hammer away at it."

For federal prosecutors trying to put Rogers' clients in prison, the public
defender comes across as someone who is "dedicated and hard-working, and
she is not unreasonable to deal with," said Sam Ponder, assistant U.S.
attorney in charge of the El Paso division for the Western District of Texas.

"It's no secret that we win most of the cases that we prosecute," said
Ponder, who estimated that prosecutors win at least 80 percent of contested
cases.

Some defendants "insist on going to trial" on difficult cases to defend, he
said.

"And sometimes she even wins those," Ponder said, extending a compliment to
Rogers' ability.

"When she loses, it's not a reflection of not having the ability," he said.

Impressed peers, clients

U.S. District Judge David Briones said he's always admired Rogers'
lawyering skills and courtroom presence -- even before he became a federal
judge.

"I like it when she appears before me because I know she will do a very
good job for her clients," he said. "That goes for her entire staff."

Most criminal defendants showing up in federal court might feel more
comfortable with an expensive, A-team defense. But the federal judge said
the lawyering from El Paso's public defenders compared with what a
defendant buys with high-priced lawyers wouldn't make a difference in 99.5
percent of cases.

Briones also likes Rogers' personality: "She is very cordial, very
outgoing, and she makes friends with everybody real easy," he said.

Villa, who has known Rogers for about 20 years, often introduces her to
friends as "the mayor of El Paso," he said, "because she's such a good
ambassador for El Paso."

Rogers and some of the attorneys in her office showcase paF1uelos
(handkerchief) art and other pieces of artwork handcrafted by their
clients. "They have no money, and they are very gracious people that have a
lot of time on their hands," she said.

Most public defenders rarely stay in the business more than 10 years, and
15 years often symbolizes the burnout threshold.

Rogers sometimes fantasizes about returning to college to get a degree in
literature.

But she's not ready to walk away from the investment she's made in the
public defender's office.

Besides, she says: "I don't know what else I could do. When you represent
clients who, overwhelmingly, are generous people, fine and decent people
who get in some bad situations, you feel good about standing up for them."

The recognition from her peers, she said, "keeps us just chucking along."

"You have to care," Rogers said. "It's not a job that you can enjoy just
because the paycheck is OK."