Reply #9: Lawyers don't always have an easy job

[gratuitous]

And in my conversations with attorneys who used to work with the public defenders' office, there are times when they'll just allow their clients to pay out the rope that figuratively hangs them. In this instance, the attorney may be telling the court just what he heard from his client (who doesn't realize how bad it sounds), knowing that it will invite the court's or the jury's wrath.