As part of Al Jazeera's Crime and Punishment series, Nick Spicer reports on how disillusioned US public defenders are leaving their posts, putting the right to trial at risk for the poor.
As the US recession shows no sign of easing, the nation's criminal justice system is also beginning to buckle under severe financial and logistical strains.
The US constitution and a landmark supreme court decision in 1963, ensure that all citizens have the right to "due process" and to a government-paid lawyer to defend them in court if necessary.
But in some US states those lawyers – known as public defenders – are rebelling amid complaints of overwork, with some asked to take on more than 200 cases a year.
Some have refused to take on more cases, and are taking legal action against the state governments which pay them.
Low payOthers are leaving, also disillusioned with the relatively low pay.
In Florida, salaries for public defenders start at around $40,000 a year – a fraction of what private lawyers make.
It was that figure - and the increasingly large number of cases that he had to take on - that caused lawyer Arthur Jones to finally give up on his dream of defending the poor in November last year.
"As much as I enjoyed fighting for the cause, I wasn't able to accomplish the same amount as I used to be able to with a higher case load," he says.
"The other effect of the budget crisis is there are no pay raises, and I needed to be able to take care of my children."
Continues:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/03/2009325134431580933.html
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