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.
"This civil legal system “crisis”, as advocates call it, has sent states scrambling for solutions. Washington has taken the unusual approach of creating an entirely new legal position, one that can help clients with straightforward legal problems for a fraction of the cost. The new “legal technicians”, the first of whom were licensed in 2015, go beyond a paralegal and don’t need a lawyer’s oversight to offer legal advice."
The Marshall Project
July 18, 2018
Read More"As a result of new cases not going to attorneys, dozens of defendants charged with felony crimes this week will not have a chance to speak to a court-appointed attorney – some for up to seven days while behind bars, something defense attorneys say is the worst-case scenario for clients."
The Spokesman-Review
June 29, 2018
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