Public Defenders — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Public Defenders

Defendants on the lower end of the socio-economic scale find themselves at the mercy of public defenders who are swamped with cases, understaffed, and underfunded. Research shows that even before mass incarceration accelerated in the 1980s, overburdened systems of indigent defense struggled to meet the 6th Amendment constitutional mandate. Public defenders usually have the deck stacked against them due to discovery laws favoring prosecutors and lack of sufficient resources.

In Missouri, Public Defenders Push to Put Poor Defendants on Wait List in Attempt to Improve Their Legal Representation

“Public defenders in St. Louis County, Missouri, are seeking to introduce a wait list for poor defendants in need of their services. They say the list, which is awaiting approval from a judge, will help improve the quality of representation by attorneys who routinely carry caseloads so high that they’re unable to devote enough time to properly represent their clients. Critics of the plan say making poor people wait for attorneys will hurt their cases and violate their constitutional rights, but St. Louis County attorneys say it’s a necessary step that they’ve been forced to take to ensure people are provided with competent representation. “

The Appeal

November 26, 2019

Lack of Funding, Improving RepresentationPhillip ReevesNovember 26, 2019The Appeal, MissouriComment

Saints' Demario Davis hosts forum calling for raise in Orleans Public Defenders' budget

“New Orleans Saints player Demario Davis was back in the news Tuesday afternoon, this time not for a successful defensive series or a game-day attire fine-turned-charitable opportunity, but for a cause he hopes gets the attention of city leaders. Using his athlete status, the linebacker brought defense attorneys, advocacy groups and even exonerated citizens together for a Players Coalition forum at Corpus Christi Church to discuss the funding, or lack thereof, for public defenders in Orleans Parish.“

New Orleans Times Picayune

November 5, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesNovember 25, 2019New Orleans Times Picayune, New Orleans Saints, New Orleans, DemarioComment

Imagine Being on Trial. With Exonerating Evidence Trapped on Your Phone.

“In America, citizens accused of crimes are supposed to have an advantage. The burden of proof is on prosecutors, and the government must turn over all its evidence to defendants, who have no reciprocal obligation. In practice, of course — and especially when defendants don’t have a lot of money — the government has the edge. Investigators can issue subpoenas, compel testimony and pressure defendants into pleas. Today, one way in which the deck is stacked against defendants involves technology.“

New York Times

November 22, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesNovember 22, 2019New York TimesComment

Defenseless: Missouri justice system violates the Constitution every day

“The conclusion is inescapable: The U.S. Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant the right to an effective lawyer, and Missouri violates that right every day. Missouri’s public defender system is an underfunded disaster. Its 384 attorneys are too often overworked, under-trained, lacking needed investigative resources and unavailable for clients in and out of jail.“

Kansas City Star

November 20, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesNovember 20, 2019Kansas City Star, MissouriComment

Despite Common Belief, Floridians Can't Always Get a Free Public Defender

“Prosecutors said they were dropping Rodriguez's felony charge and one of his misdemeanors. They were no longer seeking to jail him for the other misdemeanor count. And thanks to a quirk in Florida law, Judge Hague said Rodriguez was no longer entitled to a public defender. According to a little-known state statute, criminal defendants who aren't facing jail time have no right to a state-appointed lawyer in court. With no attorney to fight on his behalf, Rodriguez was convicted and forced to pay $358 in court fees. The criminal conviction went on his permanent record.“

Miami New Times

October 28, 2019

Public DefendersPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019Miami New Times, FloridaComment

Saints' Demario Davis: New Orleans not giving criminal defendants what they need

“For years, the Orleans Public Defenders Office has moved from one budget crisis to another. In 2012, funding shortfalls forced OPD to lay off a third of its staff. Three years later, and severely short-staffed, OPD had to refuse cases and waitlist people because it could no longer provide each person with the constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.“

The Advocate

October 14, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesOctober 14, 2019The Advocate, Demario Davis, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, SaintsComment

Sen. Kamala Harris launches bill to help public defenders

“The California senator's proposal would establish a $250 million grant program, which would put a cap on the amount of work full-time public defenders can take on, bridge the pay gap between public defenders and prosecutors within five years, and generate yearly data on workloads. It would also allocate $5 million for "comprehensive training for public defenders."“

ABC News

May 8, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesSeptember 18, 2019ABC News, Kamala HarrisComment

A Fair Fight

“At the heart of defender resource disparity is the chronic underfunding of indigent defense — a phenomenon that is widespread and well-documented. But fixing the problem will require more than simply increasing funding, and the question demands thinking broadly about the many issues that drive it. This report identifies five key challenges that contribute to defender resource disparity:“

Brennan Center for Justice

September 9, 2019

Improving Representation, Public DefendersPhillip ReevesSeptember 9, 2019Brennan Center for JusticeComment

Travis County's Public Defender Office Is Officially Funded

“Travis County is in the home stretch in its years long effort to establish a public defender office for low-income adult defendants. The Texas Indigent Defense Commission on Thursday OK'd a four-year grant to establish the office in the county – the largest jurisdiction in the country without such an office. All told, the state and county money will send more than $40 million toward indigent defense over the 48-month grant period.“

NPR Austin

August 29, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesAugust 29, 2019NPR Austin, Travis County, Austin, TexasComment

Opinion: When a Police Officer Kills, Let Public Defenders Investigate

“If mayors, police chiefs and legislatures are serious about instilling real faith in these communities, they should hand over full control of investigations to the one group of lawyers used to treating the police in an adversarial fashion, all of them experts in police rules and procedures: public defenders. Unlike prosecutors, who often work hand-in-hand with the police to make a case for conviction, defenders are used to questioning the stories police officers tell.“

New York Times

July 29, 2019

Public DefendersPhillip ReevesJuly 29, 2019New York Times, Police MisconductComment

The Census Case Shows Why We Need a Defender General

“A defender general’s office could serve precisely this function if it were afforded some independence—Booker’s bill would make it a nonprofit corporation—and if its mission were understood to go beyond criminal defense. We need a government-sponsored institution whose lawyers will stand up in court, and stand athwart DOJ lawyers, to articulate our country’s interests in the liberty of people subjected to government incarceration and detention, from prisons and jails to immigration detention.“

Slate

June 27, 2019

Improving RepresentationPhillip ReevesJune 27, 2019SlateComment

Massachusetts high court will hear emergency motion stemming from shortage of lawyers for poor defendants

“The state Supreme Judicial Court on Monday will hear arguments from lawyers for the poor who say they are overburdened with cases. The state Committee for Public Counsel Services this week filed an emergency petition with the SJC to overturn Springfield District Court Judge John Payne’s order to continue taking cases, saying there aren’t enough qualified attorneys in Hampden County.“

Massachusetts Live

June 20, 2019

OverbookedPhillip ReevesJune 20, 2019Massachusetts, Massachusetts LiveComment

Oregon's Largest Public Defense Group Has Stopped Taking Misdemeanor Cases

“The largest public defense nonprofit in Oregon — Metropolitan Public Defender — has temporarily stopped taking misdemeanor cases, OPB has learned. Nearly 200 cases will need to be redirected to private attorneys, as well as those who have contracts with the state, according to Lane Borg, executive director of the state’s Office of Public Defense Services.“

Oregon Public Broadcasting

June 5, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesJune 5, 2019Oregon, Oregon Public BroadcastingComment

Wisconsin's 'Constitutional Crisis' Is Forcing People to Sit in Jail without a Lawyer

“The right to counsel is a core protection for people facing criminal charges, but in Wisconsin, that right is largely theoretical. The state has one of the most underfunded indigent defense systems in the country, but the underlying problem is neither new nor unique to Wisconsin. “

The Appeal

May 20, 2019

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesMay 20, 2019The Appeal, WisconsinComment

Appointed Defense Lawyers, Public Defenders: Overworked, Underpaid, Ineffective

“The overwhelming majority of the U.S. prison population is made up of poor people. This also creates a back-breaking, mind-boggling burden for public defenders, and in jurisdictions without a public defender office, lawyers who are appointed by judges to represent indigent criminal defendants. With only 60 minutes to an hour and only 24 hours in a day, the sheer volume of criminal defendants assigned to and needing assistance from what few public defenders and appointment-receptive lawyers there are available, an overwhelming workload is created that none of these lawyers can handle and still be able to deliver the reasonably effective assistance that the Sixth Amendment requires.“

Criminal Legal News

May 15, 2019

Lack of Funding, OverbookedPhillip ReevesMay 15, 2019Prison Legal NewsComment

One Lawyer, 194 Felony Cases, and No Time

“High-level felonies carry sentences of 10 years or more and should each get 70 hours of legal attention, according to a workload study. For Mr. Talaska, that’s more than two years of full-time work. Mid-level felonies require 41 hours each. A few of Mr. Talaska’s clients faced life without parole. Such cases, on average, require 201 hours apiece. In total, Mr. Talaska needed to do the work of five full-time lawyers to serve all of his clients.“

New York Times

January 31, 2019

OverbookedPhillip ReevesJanuary 31, 2019New York Times, LouisianaComment

Why conservatives need to work harder to improve public defense

“Conservatives’ willingness to cede to liberal groups the movement to remedy the plight of public defenders is, to say the least, perplexing. From individual rights philosophy to budgetary prudence, public safety to small government, the aims of conservatism and a vigorous defense of the Sixth Amendment nestle together like peas in a pod.“

Washington Examiner

January 30, 2019

Public DefendersPhillip ReevesJanuary 30, 2019Washington Examiner, ConservatismComment

Can Public Defenders be Reformers?

“Using the opportunity created when people are receiving representation to assist them to address and resolve underlying problems is what outstanding defense work is often about—keeping in mind the important ethical issues that must accompany this advanced practice. Looked at in this light, a more holistic defense opens a window into the inadequacies of systems designed to serve people at risk.“

The Crime Report

January 14, 2019

Public DefendersPhillip ReevesJanuary 14, 2019The Crime ReportComment

How Defense Lawyers Break Attorney-Client Privilege to Defend Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims

“These dynamics are spelled out in a recent article published by Prosecutorial Accountability, a nonprofit that serves as a watchdog for prosecutors and against prosecutorial misconduct. Titled “NV: Prosecutors Should Not Induce Defense Attorneys to Break Ethical Rules,” the article unpacks ways defense lawyers sometimes broker these deals with prosecutors in Nevada. A main reason they do so, the article says, is to fend off appeals based on claims made by their own clients, post-conviction, that they received ineffective assistance of counsel.“

Criminal Legal News

December 30, 2018

Public DefendersPhillip ReevesDecember 30, 2018Criminal Legal News, NevadaComment

Utah’s troubled public defender system would get a big boost in funding under Gov. Gary Herbert’s plan

“Gov. Gary Herbert earmarked $5 million in ongoing funding for Utah’s Indigent Defense Commission, created in 2016 to tackle a series of problems that places Utah’s system behind those in the vast majority of states. The commission, which currently has a $1.3 million annual budget, doles out state funds to help counties and cities cover the cost of public defenders for poor Utahns.“

Salt Lake Tribune

December 10, 2018

Lack of FundingPhillip ReevesDecember 10, 2018Salt Lake Tribune, UtahComment