Public Defenders Essay

Mr. Potbelly holds a garage sale at his home. Mr. Slim Jim stops by the sale and upon noticing a rare piece of art pottery offers a price of $100 for the art that is marked $250. Mr. Potbelly accepts Mr. Slim Jim’s offer. Mr. Potbelly informs Mr. Slim Jim he is selling his home because he is moving up north because he has lost his job. Mr. Slim Jim asks how much he is selling it for and Mr. Potbelly informs him he is thinking $75,000. Mr. Slim Jim offers him $70,000 cash for the property which Mr. Potbelly immediately accepts the offer. Mr. Slim Jim informs Mr. Potbelly that he will be back in one hour with a cashiers’ check made payable to Mr. Potbelly. Mr. Potbelly says “Great!” and that while Mr. Slim Jim

Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the U.S. Supreme court unanimously ruled that the states are required under the Sixth Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent indigent defendants who are unable to afford to pay for their own attorneys. Gideon extended the right to counsel and enforced its requirements upon the states under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition to the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) also stands as precedent to guarantee indigent defendants charged with serious offenses the right to court-appointed attorney at the government’s expense. The ruling in Gideon established the principle “that every man, the rich, the poor, and poor as well as rich, is entitled to the benefit of counsel” (Fortas,

Wainwright was unanimous. The right to a fair trial was fundamental under the United States Constitution and the guarantee of counsel was a vital part of it. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clark affirms that there is no distinction between capital and non-capital cases in the Sixth Amendment so counsel should be provided in every

The opportunity to call witnesses and to have the court issue subpoenas to compel the witnesses to appear in this situation the government has to help out by issuing subpoenas to make witnesses appear. We also have access to a criminal defense lawyer. If someone cannot afford to hire their own criminal defense lawyer, a public defender will represent them. This lawyer can act on their behalf before, during, and after the trial. All of these rights are given to us by the 6th amendment and allow us to call upon the government if we need

A judge will appoint a legitimate counsel for a poor respondent. This lawful instructor will be repaid at government cost if toward the entire of the case the prosecutor could be kept for a time of over six months. Honestly, judges often dole out legitimate advisors for indigents all around that truly matters each case in which a helpful office sentence

According to Professor Eve Brensike Primus, the Public defenders in “New Orleans Parish were handling the equivalent of 19,000 misdemeanor cases per attorney annually” (Brensike, 2016, p. 1771). In effect, Professor Brensike estimates that each case received only about seven minutes (Brensike, 2016, p. 1771). Arguably, spending just seven minutes per client is not quality defense. With such a high number of clients to represent, plea bargains become a reality for the majority of cases . The problem with the plea bargain, however, is the assumption of guilt. Pleading essentially equates to admitting guilt in exchange for a lesser punishment. Thus, even if a client believes in his innocence, an attorney may opt to ignore the pleas of innocence (Brensike, 2016, p.1776). Ignoring pleas of innocence go against the presumption of innocence, where defendants are “innocent until proven guilty.” Automatically defaulting to plea bargains does not fall under that presumption. Recognizing the problems when it comes to funding and caseload, some individuals have put forth ideas in the form of

The criminal trial process has many aspects which aim to balance the rights of victims, offenders and society, including plea bargains and charge negotiations, the ability of defendants to hire legal representation and complete and partial defences. However, these processes do not always succeed in completely achieving justice for victims, offenders and society.

One, reason why the right of prisoner access to the courts is such an important consideration in the USA is because the sixth amendment covers the right to counsel and a fair trial. In order to have a fair trial the offender must have access to court by knowing the law for themselves or by counsel knowing the law for them. THe right of counsel help people in

Rightful representation at court is a constitutional right for Americans. This is the key argument reported to suspects under arrest. Unfortunately, expert help is not always cheap. Public defenders are government bodies that guarantee this right by offering free legal aid to citizens who can’t afford paid legal advice offered by high-level lawyers and costly attorney’s offices. Public offenders are sometimes called state defenders.

In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) the Court held that counsel was required by due process in all death penalty trials, in all capital case arraignments, and in cases involving an unsworn defendant who wishes to make a statement. Justice Stanley Reed revealed that the court was divided as to noncapital cases but that several justices felt that the Due Process Clause requires counsel for all persons charged with serious crime.(Zalman,2008).

In the criminal justice system innocent people are being wrongfully convicted of crimes that they had no part of. This defies the very purpose of having a criminal justice system. The following research addresses the reasons for wrongful convictions in relation to being represented by public defenders. This is important because once it is determined why wrongful convictions occur when represented by a public defender; reform within the public defense council can be implemented. The average time a person loses in prison or jail that has been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated is 8.8 years of their life (National Registry of Exonerations). This topic can help assure those who are innocent and are being represented by a public defender, will remain innocent. The justice system should not be tailored only to those who can afford private council.

There is a possibility that the death penalty punishes the poor. If an individual cannot have agog legal representation in a court of law, there is a likelihood hat the person may end up losing the case. Alternatively, if e complainant has a right legal presentation, they may influence the court, and the victim receives a straight death penalty. Most of the victims use the civil attorney who is overworked and underpaid. On the other hand, these trials last for less than a week, and the victims are not

1. A defense counsel is a professionally trained and licensed attorney of law, whose job is to represent the defendant in the criminal justice system. Defense counsels are needed to ensure the defendant’s civil rights are protected, and to present the best case possible. They are responsible for providing the defendant with legal advice, counsel, and representation during criminal trial.

Although the Southern United States is considered to be the death belt of the country due to the lack of public defender programs, many other regions within the U.S. such as the West have more exceptional public defender programs. Young lawyers are usually the advocates who go to these offices and provide fair representation to poor people accused of crimes. This lack of proper representation is absent in the South, which is in need of quality

The two senators who represents NY are Senator Charles E. Schumer and Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand. They both belongs to democratic party. According to Vivian in the New York Times article, “Chuck Schumer wins 4th term in senate” published November 8, 2016, stated that Senator Charles has serve the senatorial position for four terms. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has served as a senator for 3 years. According to bioguide, in the article ‘senate years of service’, says “her served as a senator began in 2009 due to the resignation of Hillary Clinton in