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.
“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
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