This Conviction Brought to You by (Your Company Name Here)

I can sympathize with local prosecutors who have limited resources with which to do their jobs (they have manifestly more than their defense counterparts, but that's for another time), but is seeking corporate sponsorship the right solution? A DA in Texas has accepted a $200,000 grant from Mary Kay to help fund domestic violence prosecutions. While that particular grant is probably mostly harmless, it raises serious questions about other corporate tie-ins. What if a company that gives such a grant turns into (or should turn into) a target of a criminal investigation? Do we run the risk of DAs appearing to have the same quid-pro-quo arrangement going that most of us think most politicians do with their contributors?

At any rate, I figure if it's OK for prosecutors to do this, public defenders should get a little help, too. I'm willing to sell a small portion of each page of the briefs I write - say the upper right hand corner - for a small fee from the right donor. :)