Defendants have right to counsel, and Cunningham has right to defend

The negative ads Dawn Ortiz-Legg is running against Jordan Cunningham in the state Assembly race are much more telling about her than about him. I have known Jordan Cunningham for many years and served with him as a deputy district attorney. Jordan is a hardworking man of unimpeachable integrity, and he graduated from the prestigious UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law.

After he left the District Attorney’s Office but before he began his own practice, Jordan worked at Adamski, Moroski, Madden, Cumberland & Green — a highly rated law firm in Avila Beach. And yes, he was assigned to represent clients in criminal cases. Defendants have a right to be represented by counsel and to the presumption of innocence. Ortiz-Legg’s ads imply some guilt by association because Jordan has represented clients charged with crimes. She apparently does not understand the criminal justice system, or she feels that criminal defendants are not entitled to a vigorous defense.

Jordan’s work as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney makes him that much more knowledgeable when it comes to addressing the needs of law enforcement and of our citizens. I’m voting for him.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Defendants have right to counsel, and Cunningham has right to defend."