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Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024
Study Finds Public Defenders’ Heavy Workloads Prevent Effective Representation, Amendments to 50-Year-Old Guidelines Recommended by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The National Public Defense Workload Study (“Study”) examined the guidelines created by the National Advisory Committee in 1973 (“NAC Standards”) that determine the recommended number of cases annually that a …
Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022
Filed under: Public Defenders
ABA Says Oregon Needs 1,296 More Public Defenders by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson Oregon’s 592 contracted public defenders, in a state with more than 4.2 million citizens, amount to just 31% of the attorneys needed to represent the state’s indigent criminal defendants, according to a two-year study by the …
Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022
Who Defends the Public Defenders? by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution offers a guarantee of the assistance of an attorney when accused of a crime. This guarantee has become a trope in countless movies and TV shows where suspects are advised: “If you …
Article • October 15, 2021 • from CLN November, 2021
Study Shows Public Defenders Outperform Court Appointed Private Attorneys by Michael Fortino, Ph.D by Michael Fortino, Ph.D. Defendants, put your checkbooks away. The age-old assumption that private defense attorneys provide a more comprehensive and effective defense than do public defenders may simply not be true. A February 2021 analysis initiated …
Article • May 15, 2019 • from CLN June, 2019
Appointed Defense Lawyers, Public Defenders: Overworked, Underpaid, Ineffective by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon  The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that all criminal defendants have a lawyer’s assistance to prepare and present a defense against whatever crime a prosecutor is accusing him or her of committing, as a …
Article • October 29, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
ACLU Sues ‘Crooked’ Public Defender in Georgia by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Reid Zeh is Glynn County, Georgia’s public defender. As a lawyer, his personal conduct is far from the sterling standard expected from members of the Bar. In March 2018, he was jailed on a battery charge. He …
Article • August 17, 2018 • from CLN September, 2018
Maryland’s Top Court Rules Actual Notice by Trial Judge Unnecessary to Trigger Hearing Requirement On Defendant’s Request to Replace Defense Counsel by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis Maryland’s top court, the Court of Appeals, reversed the conviction of a defendant because the trial court failed to entertain and rule on …
Article • June 1, 2018
Filed under: Attorneys, Public Defenders
$600,000 Awarded Missouri Man in Legal Malpractice Verdict After 17 Years in Prison by Monte McCoin by Monte McCoin In May 2018, jurors in a Newton County Circuit courtroom awarded $600,000 to a man who spent 17 years in a Missouri prison before his conviction was overturned by that state’s …
Brief • March 29, 2018
Williams v. Murphy, CT, ruling, aid of judgment, 2018 Case 3:13-cv-01154-MPS Document 280 Filed 03/29/18 Page 1 of 45 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT RASHAD WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, No. 3:13-cv-01154 (MPS) v. PETER MURPHY, ET AL., Defendants. RULING ON MOTIONS FOR AID OF JUDGMENT AND RELEASE OF FUNDS I. …
Indigent Defense in America: An Affront to Justice by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” What exactly the “right” to counsel in …
Article • March 16, 2018
Inadequate Public Defender Offices Prompt ACLU Suit by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell "Innocent until proven guilty” is a “cruel and hollow motto when you don’t have an adequate defense, and the government is employing its vast resources to lock you up and take away your freedom,” the ACLU says …
Article • February 22, 2018
ABA: Tennessee Court Violates Misdemeanants Right to Counsel by David Reutter by David Reutter At the request of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Arch City Defenders of St. Louis conducted a court watching program of Tennessee's Davison County General Sessions Criminal Court in …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Louisiana Indigent Defendants Face Death Penalty Without Lawyers by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The indigent defense crisis in Louisiana continues, but it is now taking a new and more ominous direction. In order to fund local public defenders, the state has taken $3 million from capital defenders, leaving at …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Few Indigent Defendants Have Lawyer at Arraignment by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson "Giving defendants a lawyer, treating them with respect, and honoring the Constitution give them more confidence in what we’re trying to do,” observes Michigan District Court Judge Tom Boyd. “That starts with giving them the respect they …
Curb False Confessions: Provide Suspects With Lawyers by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna According to the nonprofit National Registry of Exonerations, Cook County, Illinois has a false confession rate three times higher than the national average. In November 2017, Cook County Prosecutor Kim Foxx dropped criminal cases against 15 men …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Hawaii Supreme Court: Defendants Entitled to Hearing Within 2 Days by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell There is a “strong presumption” a defendant held in custody beyond two days without a preliminary hearing (or other method to show probable cause), absent “compelling circumstances,” must be released, the Hawaii Supreme Court …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Ninth Circuit Warns Prosecutors Against Interfering With Defendants’ Legal Representation; Reverses First-Degree Murder Convictions by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that James Michael Wells did not receive a fair trial, reversed his first-degree murder convictions, and remanded for a new …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Filed under: Public Defenders
Overworked Missouri Public Defenders Fear Suspensions and Firing by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson "They just demonstrated they’re going to prosecute us, and the Supreme Court just demonstrated that they’re going to punish us,” said Michael Barrett, director of the Missouri public defender system, in response to the suspension of …
Brief • February 6, 2018
Harden v. State of Delaware, ruling, post-conviction relief, 2018 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE DARIUS O. HARDEN, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. § § § § § § § § § § § No. 290, 2017 Court Below: Superior Court of …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Misdemeanor Defendants Facing Jail Time Not Told They Have a Right to Counsel, Bar Association Finds by Topher Sanders by Topher Sanders, ProPublica American Bar Association monitors report misdemeanor defendants in Nashville often aren’t told they are entitled to a lawyer even when their charges mean they could end up behind …
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