[zo1]

"I'm a very well paid software engineer.. I apparently can't afford to hire a qualified defender if I find myself in need. I figure a defense is a minimum of 500 hours, so even at $300 that's $150,000. I have no idea where I get that type of money from.

Our justice system is severely screwed."

The lawyers have a cushy government-aided monopoly. You can't "practice" law if you don't have have BAR approval from the lawyer priesthood. And they've been slowly increasing the difficulty for people to enter the field. It's nigh impossible to know law sufficiently well to defend yourself/someone else (even if they allowed you), yet that is precisely the situation that is created and enforced.

And we all know what happens when supply is restricted: the existing players increase their prices because you have to use them if you don't want to go to jail (a.k.a. government-funded rape rooms); there is simply no alternative.

Lawyers are the new priesthood of the state. Please, wake up.

[maxerickson]

It doesn't seem to be getting harder to pass the bar in the U.S. In 2000, 72,704 bar examinations were taken, with 47,160 passing, ~65%. In 2013, 83,986 exams were taken, with 57,026 passing, ~68%. Those are the yearly totals, I guess they include people taking the exam twice.

I got the numbers here:

http://www.ncbex.org/publications/statistics/

I picked those 2 years just because, I didn't look at any other years.