From his spacious, wood-paneled new office where so far
the rain doesn't come in the windows Pat McGee said he has several goals for his second year as the managing attorney for the Center of Student Legal Services.
Our goal is that students get out of college with a clean record McGee said.
He is currently working with Student Senate to try to encourage Athens City Council to amend the Nuisance Party Ordinance so that students receive a warning before receiving a violation, McGee said.
He also hopes to modify the jury pool selection method so that trials are fairer for students. Under the current system, any student whose permanent address is not in Athens, regardless of where he or she is registered to vote, cannot be selected for jury duty.
McGee is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his job. As an Ohio University graduate, he understands what it is like to live in a college town, even one in the boonies
and the kind of trouble students tend to get in, he said.
Often the issue is not guilty or not guilty
but whether the student's rights were violated, McGee said.
Part of the importance of the process is promoting the integrity of the law
McGee said.
McGee, who received his law degree at the University of Kentucky, worked as a public defender in Athens County for 13 years, earning the title of Set 'Em Free McGee
according to the Student Legal Services Web site (http://www.studentlegalrights.org).
He started working with Student Legal Services, formerly known as the Center for Student Advocacy, at the beginning of the new millennium.
He's been a really good source on how to be professional while not trying to be professional
said Jeff Kurt, a senior management major, who grew up around attorneys. He treats everyone like an equal
and he always make time for everyone.
By paying a quarterly $8 fee, every OU student is entitled to full representation in Athens County through the service. Normally he defends students who are convicted of misdemeanors, often involving alcohol or disorderly conduct.
In his opinion, the drinking age should legally be 19, because the 21-year-old drinking age trumped what voters in Ohio wanted, McGee said.
He also deals with a lot of tenant-landlord disputes, and said he is sometimes appalled by substandard off-campus housing. Landlords often rip off students by unfairly withholding deposits and not remedying conditions, he said.
McGee will be working with the new Office of Off-Campus Living to create a database that would list information about available leases, and he hopes to include a section to rate landlords, he said. Certain landlords and companies stand out because they are unfair and vindictive.
McGee always suggests that students bring in their lease for him to examine. Many students do not understand exactly what they are liable for, McGee said.
Our goal is to help educate students
he said.
McGee does many educational programs with students, sometimes using role-playing to encourage students not to be intimidated by police officers, he said.
I get to be Mr. Nasty Cop or Officer Friendly
he said. I think there are good and bad police officers
