New York
Related: About this forumHolder Backs Suit in New York Faulting Legal Service for Poor.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who last year declared a crisis in Americas legal-defense system for the poor, is supporting a class-action lawsuit that accuses Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State of New York of perpetuating a system that violates the rights of people who cannot afford to hire lawyers.
The lawsuit claims that public defenders in New York are so overworked and overmatched that poor people essentially receive no legal defense at all. It describes a system in which indigent defendants navigate courts nearly alone, relying on spotty advice from lawyers who do not have the time or money to investigate their cases or advise them properly.
Because of substandard legal aid, children are taken from their parents, defendants in minor cases are jailed for long periods and people are imprisoned for crimes for which they might have been acquitted, the civil rights lawyers who filed the suit said.
Although the United States is not a party to the case, Mr. Holder is using the same core legal arguments as the plaintiffs and the weight of the federal government to resolve what he sees as deep-seated unfairness in local criminal courts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/nyregion/holder-backs-suit-in-new-york-faulting-legal-service-for-poor.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
Rod Beauvex
(564 posts)And not just in times of being in court.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)the defendant should have professional representation.
Anything else is like dropping someone in a NASCAR race and expecting them to be competitive.
elleng
(130,156 posts)and we attorneys take this role very seriously. Our clients are those we are/were assigned to represent, NOT the state, county, or federals who may pay for that representation.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)you only get an appointed attorney if there is jail time involved. However prosecutors show up for misdemeanors. Part of the probation agreement is to pay for the attorney.
elleng
(130,156 posts)It is not only in Ferguson that the poor support the system.
Like Adjunct Professors, Public Defenders should Unionize. Only as a organized group can they get respect. The system is weighted and the only balance is the appointed Attorney. If he/she is under funded there is no representation.
Did you happen to notice the post by Dr. Xavier seeking crowd funding?
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/1168910