The state of public defense often seems quite dire in settings where the Constitution ensures a right to counsel, even without even considering the wide and deep problems of unmet legal needs elsewhere in our criminal justice systems. These issue are on my mind in part after seeing a number of recent stories from a number of states spotlighing public defender challenges:
From Iowa, “WANTED: Scott County public defenders: ‘I would probably call it a crisis.’“
From Maine, “Bill addressing critical shortage of public defenders headed to governor’s desk“
From Oregon, “Oregon public defender crisis far from over, as lawmakers consider different proposals“
From Washington, “Washington’s Yakima County represents breaking point in state’s public defender crisis“
These pieces caught my eye for a number of reasons, but the Maine story especially got me to thinking about the haves and the have nots when it comes to legal representation. The Maine bill seeks to address “a crisis that has left hundreds of indigent defendants without representation — dozens of them incarcerated” — through new legislation that “would allocate roughly $3.2 million over three years.” Meanwhile, Prez Trump cut deals late last week with four more BigLaw firms to “provide an aggregate total of at least $500 Million Dollars in pro bono and other free Legal services.” As I noted in this prior post, these deals with BigLaw firms provide that pro bono services be devoted, at least in part, to “ensuring fairness in our Justice System.” The stories above highlight many examples of persons stuck in jail for extended periods while awaiting trial because of the lack of an appointed attorney. That sure strikes me as unfair, and something these big firms could surely help fix.
As I argued before, given Prez Trump’s circuitous track record(s) with all sorts of criminal justice reforms, as well as repeated statements in these BigLaw deals that pro bono work is to be focused on “ensuring fairness in our Justice System,” the firms making these commitments should think broadly and dynamically about where their significant pro bono resourses can be invested most wisely. There are a wide array of criminal justice reform advocacy groups, representing all sorts of political and social perspectives, that can highlight all sorts of unfariness in our Justice System if the BigLaw folks take some time to listen.
Prior related post: