THE DEFENSE
NEVER RESTS
The coal industry went bust in
the 1950s, and economic stagnation set in and never lifted. More
recently, the National Drug Intelligence Center identified Hazleton
as an emerging regional hub for
the state’s heroin trade, fought
over by Dominican gangs that migrated west from Philadelphia and
New York. It’s one of the county’s
tougher jurisdictions.
It’s also Olexa’s hometown.
He graduated from the local high
school and his parents live in a
quiet neighborhood on the north
side. The city used to feel safe,
but lately he worries about his
mother just taking the dog out
for a walk after dark. “One of the
saddest things in my life is seeing what has happened to this
town,” he says.
After three years in the public defender’s office, Olexa’s well
acquainted with Hazleton’s dark
side. He represents nearly every
criminal defendant arrested there
who can’t afford an attorney, with
the exception of juvenile offenders
and adults charged with murder.
Some clients are homeless drifters, or immigrants come to work
in the area’s three meat packing
plants. Most are young, in their
20s and early 30s, and virtu-
HUFFINGTON
10.28.12
ally all are flat broke. Unable to
make bail, they often sit in jail for
months as their cases slowly wend
through the system.
To handle the caseload, Olexa
rises before dawn five days a week
and works weekends and late into
the night, reviewing police reports
and tapping out briefs on his lap-
Criminal
defendants
in Luzerne
are overwhelmingly
poor, and
those that
are unable
to afford bail
often spend
months and
even years
in jail.