Case Study: New Public Defender

David Marcus, the Lassen County Public Defender from 2005 to 2011 who has spent the past five years working as the CEO of a dental company and a contract lawyer on the East Coast, said he’ll be in town Wednesday.

The Wayne County commissioners approved a request from Prosecutor Dan Lutz to appoint the Holmes County Prosecutor’s Office to take over a case involving a former Wooster Police officer who allegedly broke into a current officer’s home.

The OC Public Defender office appears to specialize in defending the legal rights of homeless individuals (in the Homeless Court). One of my tasks involves updating resources via collecting data on different types of clients (i.e clients that are homeless, on post release community supervision, parole, or on mandatory supervision). Other activities include shadowing the office's staffs and observing and/or interviewing homeless individuals. I may also be assigned general office tasks like filing

We have read in the news recently that there are plenty of public defenders who are facing budget cuts and are in a financial crisis. This can be seen by a chief public defender in New Orleans who has had to resort to turning clients away. The public defender’s office in New Orleans is understaffed, currently employing 42 overworked lawyers, in relation to the 72 attorneys and 20 investigators it employed in 2008. These go against the standard set by the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice and the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. The National Standards point to the caseload maximus prescribed by the National Advisory Commission (NAC) on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, a 1973 U.S. Department

Prosecutor Dan Lutz requested a special prosecutor because he is of the opinion a conflict exists in this case, according to the resolution passed by the commissioners. State law allows the Court of Common Pleas to appoint a special prosecutor. Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero has agreed someone from his office will act as the prosecutor.

Can you confirm Mr. Lin is an Active attorney and was admitted? His Supreme Court order shows he is on probation with your department. He has some concerns below I wanted to see if you can help me address. Our system shows he’s Active. Do you think the Supreme Court needs to fix his status in their system?

Sara, I have called a couple of times to discuss my conversation with KC's defense attorney, but you must be busy. Yesterday, Gabe called me wanting to know why I was not recommending SSODA and I explained to him all of the reasons that were laid out in the addendum. I further went on to say that while I agreed with him that he is in need of treatment, he would get treatment at JRA, if that is where he ends up. He adamantly disagreed with me and stated that KC would go without treatment at JRA, even on Parole. He attempted to put words in my mouth wanting me to confirm that I was not recommending SSODA because he would receive Tx at JRA instead, and I stopped him and said that I see how this conversation is going and I would not allow him to put me on trial. I reiterated that my reasoning for not recommending SSODA is in my eval

The attorney was the best the prosecution had. Slick and well prepared – they may have won this petition to remand

The Innocence Project is, “a national litigation organization that is dedicated to acquitting wrongfully convicted “criminals” through DNA testing and through reforming the system to prevent further injustice” (The Innocence). The Innocence project was founded by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in 1992, and became a nonprofit organization in 2004. In addition to our co-directors and a managing attorney, there are six full-time staff attorneys and nearly 300 active cases. As a clinic, the law students handle the casework while being supervised by the team of attorneys and clinic staff. To determine whether or not to represent a case the Innocence Project gathers extensive information about each case application, and their intake and evaluation staff researches each potential case thoroughly. The legal staff ultimately determines whether DNA testing can be performed and, if so, whether or not the results will be favorable in innocence. The length of time spent on each case depends on how quickly evidence is found and secured; how long it takes to test the evidence. The Innocence Project also faces many hurdles in litigating theses cases. They include time-consuming and thorough efforts to find evidence; damaged evidence that cannot be correctly tested; lost or destroyed evidence; and prosecutorial objections. From the time a case is accepted, it can take between a year and

Severance works somewhat differently in federal criminal trials because this case involves the indictment of more than one defendant Jones, Walsh and Bert. In Bert 's situation, his defense attorney will provide an argument that a joint trail might be unfair against Bert or reaching a decision on the rape charges against him. The Severance is not automatic because the Federal rule 14 allows judges broad discretion in deciding whether to grant a severance to Bert. To be successful, Bert’s defense will to fill a motion for his severance which must show the concerns for Bert 's right to a fair trial outweigh the goals of the joinder. One of the most successful grounds for seeking severance for Bert arises when Bert wishes not to testify on all, some or any of the charges in the trail but chooses to claim his Fifth Amendment privilege on one or more charges. The separating by court order, such as separate trials for Bert, Jones, and Walsh who are charged with the same crime, or trying the negligence aspect of the rape charge or any other charge before the trail. Such division of issues in the trail is sometimes called "bifurcation." ("Burton 's Legal Thesaurus," 4E. (2007).

Mr. Mack is an ineffective assistance of counsel which constitutes a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Mr. Mack lacks the time, experience or professional responsibility to represent me. His deficient performance raises concern for my case. I would like to put in a request for new counsel.

Trial Defense Service will be available Saturday, 12 September 2015, at 0900 for both Article 15s and Chapters.

Public defenders are put at a major disadvantage in terms of the effectiveness of defense they can provide. Most defenders will try to defend their clients to the best of their ability, but there are so many obstacles that prevent this from happening. These obstacles include heavy caseloads, lack of resources, government restriction, and the type of client they have to defend. While not all of these problems have a simple solution there must be some remedy to the issues. By not being able to provide a proper defense it directly violates proper due process.

Defense attorneys are not getting enough credit as they deserve. Which is a shame because they are an important actor in the criminal justice system. Some of their work includes interviewing witnesses, representing clients, and negotiating plea deals with prosecutors. Everyone is given the right to counsel even if they cannot afford a lawyer, the State will assign them a public defender. The public sees defense attorneys as trying to keep guilty people out of jail, and that is the main reason the public looks down upon them. Many of whom defense attorneys represent are guilty, however there is a small majority of innocent people that are accused. I believe that an innocent person being sent to prison is the most horrific thing that can happen

The intricacies of criminal law can be difficult for the average person to navigate, so if you are currently facing charges, you have most likely considered seeking representation from an experienced defense attorney. The precise ways an attorney helps with your case varies from situation to situation.