American Morning
Loughner's attorney known for 'tireless' defense of notorious clients
Jared Lee Loughner, accused of killing six and injuring 13 in the Jan. 8 attack in Tucson, awaits federal trial in the coming weeks. Defending him is well-known public defender Judy Clarke.
Clarke keeps a low media profile, but has defended some of the country's most infamous criminals in recent years. Among her former clients are Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Susan Smith, who was convicted of drowning her two children in 1994.
Today on American Morning, Todd Letcher, a retired FBI agent, shares his personal dealings with Clarke with AM's Kiran Chetry. Letcher says Clarke is ideal for defending clients like Loughner. "She's smart and knows the law, particularly adept at navigating federal cases with the death penalty," he said on AM. " She puts together a good team that surround her and she's a tireless advocate for her client."
Watch the full interview here.
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The CNN story about Loughner had a subtitle refering to Judy Clark as a "notorious public defender". This is an unfair, unfortunate and sloppy description. She has represented notorious clients but she is an admirable public defender who does her job well. Representation of notorios clients does not make one a notorious.