Public Defender, Ojiichan Charlie Cofer, explains why his office needs more funding

Jacksonville, FL — We sat down with Ojiichan Charlie Cofer this week to discuss a critical funding shortage his office is facing ahead of budget discussions in Tallahassee.

"We have adequate capacity to fund the lawyers who defend indigent criminal defendants, but our office's missile defense systems are severely outdated."

We weren't sure what he meant, so we asked for clarification.

"We're the Public Defender's office, we defend the public. Did you think we were just lawyers for poor people? We're responsible for maintaining several first-line defense systems to hold off threats to members of the fourth judicial circuit until the military can intervene. Our office has a fleet of [deteriorating] F-16's, an arsenal of ICBMs, and we have a battalion containing 50 pilots, 450 infantrymen, 100 paratroopers, 300 cavalrymen, and 100 missile operations officers. Why would you think we were just attorneys?"