Posts in Improving Representation
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

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Lack of Funding, Improving RepresentationPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, MissouriComment
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

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Improving Representation, Public DefendersPhillip ReevesBrennan Center for JusticeComment
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

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Improving RepresentationPhillip ReevesSlateComment
New study by Paul Heaton and RAND co-authors finds holistic defense effective in reducing mass incarceration

“Heaton and his co-authors compared holistic representation – wherein an interdisciplinary team that includes a lawyer working alongside other advocates such as a social worker, housing advocate, investigator, etc. addresses the wider needs of the client enmeshed in the criminal justice system – to the more traditional public defense model focused around criminal attorneys and criminal case advocacy. They found that the holistic approach reduced the likelihood of a prison sentence by 16 percent, and actual prison sentence length by 24 percent.“

Penn Law

November 12, 2018

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Improving RepresentationPhillip ReevesPenn Law, RANDComment