Gideon TodayMany experts believe that "the promise of Gideon remains largely unfulfilled" (Jason Kornwitz, Northeastern University). [1] Although counsel is a guaranteed right, public defender systems are often so underfunded and overloaded with cases that they cannot provide quality legal counsel to indigent defendants. |
"The basic rights guaranteed under Gideon have yet to be fully realized." -Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General [2] |
The Problems |
"Public Defenders handle approximately 70-80% of the total criminal cases, so we should get that percentage of the prosecutors' funding. Unfortunately, it is less than half of the prosecutors' funding in many areas."
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Lawyers frequently are saddled with incredible caseloads; they frequently don't have the resources to investigate cases and to hire experts; and so for a lot of these lawyers, although they come into the work for the right reasons, they become lawyers who are forced to simply help process people through the system. |
Solutions"In at least 43 states and the District of Columbia, defendants can be billed for a public defender," [9] although this hurts the poor even more. |
We could change the law . . . to make it harder to do plea bargains, but that's probably not going to happen. . . . We could just have fewer prosecutions, or we could spend a lot more money on indigent defense. But unless one of those happens, it's [still a problem]. |
Persuade the states that it's cheaper to pay for public defender systems than to imprison people who shouldn't be in prison. |
Annual cost per inmate:$167,731Median public defender salary:$60,300 |
- 1. Jason Kornwitz, "The Lasting Impact of Historic Gideon Ruling," News at Northeastern, last modified March 18, 2013, accessed January 2, 2014.
- 2. Eric Holder, speech presented at National Summit on Indigent Defense, New Orleans, February 4, 2012, U.S. Department of Justice, last modified February 4, 2012.
- 3. Hannah Levintova, Jaeah Lee, and Brett Brownwell, "Charts: Why You're in Deep Trouble If You Can't Afford a Lawyer," Mother Jones (San Francisco), May 16, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013.
- 4. Lynn Langton and Donald J. Farole, Jr., Public Defender Offices, 2007 - Statistical Tables, Census of Public Defender Offices, 2007 (Washington, DC: Bureau Of Justice Statistics, 2009).
- 5. Section of Litigation, "The 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright," American Bar Association, video file, 1:04:41, January 18, 2013, accessed March 7, 2014.
- 6. Nancy Daniels, e-mail interview by the author, Tallahassee, FL, January 28, 2013.
- 7. Levintova, Lee, and Brownwell, "Charts."
- 8. Carrie Johnson, "50 Years after Key Case, Problems Defending the Poor Persist," NPR Morning Edition, podcast audio, March 15, 2013, accessed March 16, 2014.
- 9. Joseph Shapiro, "As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price," NPR: All Things Considered, podcast audio, May 19, 2014.
- 10. Samuel Wiseman, telephone interview by the author, Tallahassee, FL, May 16, 2014.
- 11. Abe Krash, telephone interview by the author, Tallahassee, FL, May 19, 2014.
- 12. Dawn Porter, dir., Gideon's Army, Trilogy Films, 2013.
- 13. Nashla Salas, comp., NYC’s Jail Population: Who’s There and Why? (New York: Independent Budget Office of New York City, 2012).
- 14. "New Findings on Salaries for Public Interest Attorneys," NALP Bulletin, September 2010.