Public defender

States ensures a defendant the right to counsel. There are different ways cities and counties across the United States provide representation for indigent defendants. One such approach to indigent defense is public defender programs and is a popular system used by many states today. Public defender programs have been around since the 1900’s but gained popularity throughout the years due to the many indigent defense cases. Historically, the right to

Overall, the research collected has examined juvenile delinquency, the persistent consequences of incarceration, and suggestive measures from the Public Defenders that could help reduce recidivism and provide justice for the offenders, the victims and the community. The research highlighted the crime pattern in young offenders, existing racial disparities in the juvenile criminal justice system and the lack of a proper support structure that encourages the youth to make bad choices. Studies included

For this upcoming research project, the working title would be “Public Support for Public Defenders: How Income Affects Perception”. Specifically, I want to look at how public approval of public defender’s impacts differs based on income and how that affects whether they think reforms are necessary. Therefore, my research question would be: does income affect the public’s perception of the effectiveness and approval of public defenders? So far two studies have been done that will aid in my research

Underfunding and overburdening prevents Public Defenders Offices from performing their jobs properly. For example, a 2007 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that 40% of all Public Defender Offices had no investigators on their payroll, resulting in lawyers lacking means to perform research on a specific case, find out the truth of the situation and thus present a strong defense (Farole 1). The position of these defenders is so dire, in fact, that, an investigation by The Florida Times

about public defenders. In it she describes why those who cannot afford good lawyers are being misrepresented by public defenders. The main idea she wants to drive home is that public defenders are underfunded and extremely overworked by excessive caseloads. Hence, they are providing a weaker defense for their clients. The US Department of Justice indicates that in 2007 and about “73% of county public defender offices exceed the maximum limit of cases” (Brunt, 2015, para. 2). Public defenders are

over the type of counsel that is appointed to indigent defendants have opened due to the high incarceration rates of minorities in the prison system. As society moves into an era where issues start to become a matter of publicity and law reforms, the public starts to become more informed and aware of the differences between having a court-appointed defense attorney versus a hired private defense attorney. The acknowledgment of this issue was mentioned above, because of high rates of minority incarcerations

provide for the defendants. Not to mention, spending money on attorneys for the poor amounts to only $2.3 billion – barely even 1% of the $200 billion the government spends annually on the criminal justice system (Pfaff 2016). Not surprisingly, public defenders who are appointed to these cases are often stripped of resources while tackling multiple other assignments at the same time. Mr. Pfaff takes his aim at the federal government, proclaiming that they should help fund indigent defense services

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. Thousands of U.S legal professionals join the Offices of the Public Defenders to provide pro bono client representation at trials when they are charged with criminal

Some solutions include the improvement of funding and structure of public defender services to ensure each litigant receives proper attention, the reformation of the justice system to avoid disproportionate effects on the poor, collaboration with other services to expand accessibility, and increased promotion and incentives

Literature Review 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