Public Defense Reform
Committee for Public Counsel Services v. Middlesex and Suffolk District Courts
For more than two decades, criminal defendants in Massachusetts have experienced a recurring counsel crisis, with defendants periodically going unrepresented due to low attorney compensation rates. Despite many opportunities, the Legislature has failed to raise rates high enough to remedy the constitutional violation. At present, the compensation rate for district court cases is $75 per hour. Consequently, in a case brought by the Committee for Public Counsel Services鈥攖he Massachusetts public defender agency鈥攖he 桃子视频of Massachusetts and the ACLU鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative filed an amicus brief urging the Court to hold that the statute setting attorney compensation rates is unconstitutional. This case has important implications for the right to counsel and access to justice in Massachusetts.
Status: Ongoing
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16 Public Defense Reform Cases
Nevada
Aug 2020
Public Defense Reform
Davis v. Nevada
Every state has a constitutional obligation to provide legal representation to criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney. Nevada is failing to fulfill this obligation for low income people in its rural counties on a daily basis. Many of these underfunded rural counties lack a true public defense system, and instead mainly rely on flat-fee or defacto flat fee contract attorneys to act as public defenders. These contract attorneys operate without the oversight, resources, or time necessary to ensure they are providing an adequate defense to low income Nevadans. In fact, very often they fail to communicate with clients in basic ways, advocate effectively for pretrial release at bail hearings, or conduct independent investigations necessary to defend their clients. Worse, they at times pressure clients into taking plea bargains against the clients鈥� express wishes. This is not justice.
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Nevada
Aug 2020
Public Defense Reform
Davis v. Nevada
Every state has a constitutional obligation to provide legal representation to criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney. Nevada is failing to fulfill this obligation for low income people in its rural counties on a daily basis. Many of these underfunded rural counties lack a true public defense system, and instead mainly rely on flat-fee or defacto flat fee contract attorneys to act as public defenders. These contract attorneys operate without the oversight, resources, or time necessary to ensure they are providing an adequate defense to low income Nevadans. In fact, very often they fail to communicate with clients in basic ways, advocate effectively for pretrial release at bail hearings, or conduct independent investigations necessary to defend their clients. Worse, they at times pressure clients into taking plea bargains against the clients鈥� express wishes. This is not justice.
Missouri
Feb 2020
Public Defense Reform
David v. Missouri
As of January 2020, over 4,600 individuals, roughly 600 of whom are currently in pretrial detention, were on the waiting list for an attorney in the State of Missouri. These individuals have been charged with crimes and have already qualified for a court-appointed attorney but are being forced to wait for an indeterminate amount of time for one to become available due to an overburdened indigent defense system. As a result, a criminal defendant will likely wait months, or sometimes even years, before they are assigned an attorney.
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Missouri
Feb 2020
Public Defense Reform
David v. Missouri
As of January 2020, over 4,600 individuals, roughly 600 of whom are currently in pretrial detention, were on the waiting list for an attorney in the State of Missouri. These individuals have been charged with crimes and have already qualified for a court-appointed attorney but are being forced to wait for an indeterminate amount of time for one to become available due to an overburdened indigent defense system. As a result, a criminal defendant will likely wait months, or sometimes even years, before they are assigned an attorney.
Court Case
Nov 2019
Public Defense Reform
Tucker, et al. vs. State of Idaho, et al.
The ACLU, the 桃子视频of Idaho, and Hogan Lovells LLP filed a class action lawsuit in 2015 against the State of Idaho over its defective public defense system.
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Court Case
Nov 2019
Public Defense Reform
Tucker, et al. vs. State of Idaho, et al.
The ACLU, the 桃子视频of Idaho, and Hogan Lovells LLP filed a class action lawsuit in 2015 against the State of Idaho over its defective public defense system.
South Carolina
Oct 2019
Public Defense Reform
Smart Justice
Bairefoot v. City of Beaufort et al
In South Carolina鈥檚 municipal courts today, defendants are prosecuted, convicted, and jailed without ever having a lawyer appointed to their case or even being advised of their right to counsel. Hundreds of these defendants who were deprived of counsel鈥攊ncluding Tina Bairefoot, Dae鈥橯uandrea Nelson, and Nathan Fox鈥攈ave been and are incarcerated in local jails and state prisons every year. Cities and towns can decide whether they have municipal courts鈥攖hey are optional鈥攂ut if they decide to have them they must follow the Constitution, which includes the right to counsel.
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South Carolina
Oct 2019
Public Defense Reform
Smart Justice
Bairefoot v. City of Beaufort et al
In South Carolina鈥檚 municipal courts today, defendants are prosecuted, convicted, and jailed without ever having a lawyer appointed to their case or even being advised of their right to counsel. Hundreds of these defendants who were deprived of counsel鈥攊ncluding Tina Bairefoot, Dae鈥橯uandrea Nelson, and Nathan Fox鈥攈ave been and are incarcerated in local jails and state prisons every year. Cities and towns can decide whether they have municipal courts鈥攖hey are optional鈥攂ut if they decide to have them they must follow the Constitution, which includes the right to counsel.