News & Commentary about Public Defense Reform
Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project works to ensure that public defense systems throughout the country reliably live up to the promise of the Sixth Amendment so that all criminal defendants — regardless of their wealth or poverty — receive fair treatment in the criminal legal system. Failing public defense systems violate the constitutional rights of the accused, lead to unjust outcomes, and contribute to our overburdened, inhumane, and wasteful jail and prison systems.
Nov 15, 2019
The Size of Your Wallet Should Never Determine Your Freedom
May 16, 2019
Our Government Has Failed to Defend the Sixth Amendment
Jun 27, 2018
Glynn County, Georgia’s Crooked Public Defender
Nov 2, 2017
In Rural Nevada, the Right to Counsel Depends on the Size of Your Wallet
Oct 12, 2017
Think You Have a Constitutional Right to an Attorney? Not in Many South Carolina Courts
Jan 25, 2016
We Accept Assembly-Line Justice for the Poor. But We Shouldn’t.
Nov 24, 2015
In the OC, Suspects Don’t Get an Attorney: They Get an Informant
Jun 17, 2015
Scattershot Public Defender System in Idaho Comes Under Fire
Oct 22, 2014
How Can a 3-Year-Old Represent Himself in Court?