The award-winning director of “Gideon’s Army,” a documentary focused on public defenders and the criminal justice system, hosted a screening and discussion at Central Oregon Community College on Wednesday night.

The title of Dawn Porter’s film is a reference to Clarence Earl Gideon. After being convicted of theft without legal representation in 1961, Gideon argued before the Supreme Court that the absence of legal counsel during his case violated his right to a fair trial. Porter’s film follows the lives of three Southern public defenders, a profession that arose following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gideon’s favor.

The film, which won the documentary editing award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, focuses on the high caseload of defenders — often reaching to near 200 at any one time — and their low salaries, which are insubstantial compared with the large sums of student debt many face.

“I hope the movie is a conversation-starter,” Porter, who is also a lawyer, said in an interview before the screening. “There’s all this interest in making sure criminals are punished, but less attention to whether or not there is fairness in the process.”

The question of whether defenders are overworked and underpaid isn’t the only one raised by the film. Also highlighted is whether mandatory sentencing, which requires a minimum time be spent in prison if a person is convicted of a particular offense, helps or hurts the system.

“It’s very hard to imagine pleading guilty to something you didn’t do,” Porter said. “But if you’re offered a plea with a lesser sentence than required if you’re found guilty, that can sometimes be the rational thing to do.”

During the question-and-answer session, members of the audience of 50 asked about the process of making the film and what can be done to improve the justice system. Porter told the audience to get involved — serve on juries and vote for officials who understand the shortcomings of the criminal justice system.

One audience member, Ed Mierjeski, had spent half his life involved, serving as a public defender in Deschutes County for just shy of 31 years.

“The image of (one of the defenders in the film), quietly reflecting on the prison term his client just received, I’ve been there,” said Mierjeski, 63, now retired. “That close-up on his face, I knew that feeling. You can move on, take on new cases, but it will still be there with you.”

Mierjeski said the film “got everything right,” including the high caseloads and imbalance of resources between defenders and prosecutors, who are often paid more than defenders and have police forces to help with investigations.

“People you’ve served recognize you on the street, and you may forget their name, or their face has changed, but you remember,” he said. “There’s a human story behind every case.”

Mierjeski became a defender right after law school, but he criticized the high turnover in the profession created by the low pay and working conditions.

“Because of the way it’s set up, you have a lot of newbies, and that’s not fair,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tleeds@bendbulletin.com