Only by chance did a St. Petersburg Times reporter come across a juvenile restitution hearing for a 16-year-old boy who had pleaded guilty to stealing a car and burglarizing another. The boy had no lawyer, as his mother could no longer afford the attorney who had represented him through the plea agreement -- and the judge, a George W. Bush appointee just after the November 2000 elections, made the boy represent himself. This despite the boy's repeated protests that he wanted an attorney, that he didn't understand the proceedings, and that he didn't know what to do. His mother tried to help him from the front row, so the judge threw her out of the courtroom.

What was that bit about "equal protection for all who can afford it?" (found via Obscure Store)