Weak Public Defense System Forces Rural Poor Into Guilty Pleas, Nevada Lawsuit Says

[Judi Lynn]

Source: NBC News

NOV 2 2017, 8:48 PM ET
by JON SCHUPPE

Poor people who get charged with crimes in rural Nevada are getting cheated in court by a cash-starved public defense system that assigns lawyers who don't have enough time or resources to mount strong cases, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a lawsuit Thursday.

This "indigent defense crisis," as the ACLU describes it, relies on a network of overworked, court-appointed lawyers who are paid flat fees, making them less inclined to meet with clients, review their cases, challenge high bail amounts or hire investigators, the lawsuit said.

That, according to lawyers who filed the civil rights complaint, makes poor defendants more likely to get stuck in jail for long periods of time before trial, which in turn makes them more likely to plead guilty ─ even if they insist they did not commit the crimes.

"What you see is an incredible lack of contact with the clients by the defense attorneys," said Franny Forsman, a retired federal public defender in Nevada who joined the ACLU in the lawsuit.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/weak-public-defense-system-forces-rural-poor-guilty-pleas-nevada-n817011

[PoliticAverse]

1. Wouldn't that claim apply to most of the US? n/t

[elleng]

2. No.

'Poor people who get charged with crimes in rural Nevada are getting cheated in court by a cash-starved public defense system that assigns lawyers who don't have enough time or resources to mount strong cases.'

[greyl]

3. That quote does not justify a "no" answer to the question. nt

[elleng]

4. 'Most of the U.S.'

is not ''Poor people who get charged with crimes in rural Nevada.'

[greyl]

5. Weak Public Defense System Forces Rural Poor Into Guilty Pleas

is true wherever it's true. The lawsuit's specificity does not rule out the phenomenon elsewhere.

[dembotoz]

6. Cash starved public defender problem not limited to rural nevada

[greyl]

7. Good headline for a truthful essay. nt