The Right to Counsel: Badly Battered at 50

[Kire]

A half-century ago, the Supreme Court ruled that anyone too poor to hire a lawyer must be provided one free in any criminal case involving a felony charge. The holding in Gideon v. Wainwright enlarged the Constitution’s safeguards of liberty and equality, finding the right to counsel “fundamental.” The goal was “fair trials before impartial tribunals in which every defendant stands equal before the law.”

This principle has been expanded to cover other circumstances as well: misdemeanor cases where the defendant could be jailed, a defendant’s first appeal from a conviction and proceedings against a juvenile for delinquency.

While the constitutional commitment is generally met in federal courts, it is a different story in state courts, which handle about 95 percent of America’s criminal cases.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/the-right-to-counsel-badly-battered-at-50.html

related:

A poor person has a much greater chance of being incarcerated now than when Gideon was decided, 50 years ago today.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/opinion/gideons-muted-trumpet.html?src=recg

[musiclawyer]

1. If you only knew how little time most public defenders spend with their clients

facing serious criminal charges you would puke. Many of these people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time or hanging around the wrong people.