Gideon v. Wainwright and its progeny are the font of contemporary jurisprudence on the right to a fair trial. But this right too often has been honored in the breach and courts have struggled to implement the constitutional mandate. The National Right to Counsel Committee’s comprehensive 2009 report, “Justice Denied,” shows “there is uncontroverted evidence that funding still remains woefully inadequate and is deteriorating in the current economic difficulties that confront the nation. Because of insufficient funding, in much of the country, training, salaries, supervision, and staffing of public defender programs are unacceptable for a country that values the rule of law”.
Unfortunately, one of the most dramatic instances of that failure is in our neighboring state, Pennsylvania. It is the only state in the country which does not provide state funding of criminal defense for the indigent. Indigent defense is left to the counties. A thorough report by a committee of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded in 2003 that “indigent criminal defendants are not assured of receiving adequate, effective representation.” Nothing changed. But the exposure of the dreadful corruption of juvenile justice by two now-jailed judges in Luzerne County prompted the Legislature to commission a new study. Its December 2011 report, “A Constitutional Default,” concluded that the “Kids for Cash scandal showed how failure to maintain professional independence of defense attorneys from political interference by the judiciary can create systemic injustice [and that] Pennsylvania’s overly localized indigent defense system can lead to inadequate supervision and training, which in turn can lead to a shocking deterioration in professional standards.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
