Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Everyone gets their 15 minutes of representation The cost of the drug war is just simply overwhelming... MIAMI -- Public defenders' offices in at least seven states are refusing to take on new cases or have sued to limit them, citing overwhelming workloads that they say undermine the constitutional right to counsel for the poor. [...] In September, a Florida judge ruled that the public defenders' office in Miami-Dade County could refuse to represent many of those arrested on lesser felony charges so its lawyers could provide a better defense for other clients. Over the last three years, the average number of felony cases handled by each lawyer in a year has climbed to close to 500, from 367, officials said, and caseloads for lawyers assigned to misdemeanor cases have risen to 2,225, from 1,380. Those are absolutely impossible, and ridiculous, numbers. And, you see, in America, we have a little thing called the Bill of Rights. Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. The drug war completely destroys our ability as a nation to live up to our commitments as a nation. This is just one more instance where the staggering financial burden of the drug war will clash with our national fiscal crisis. 9:15:28 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []