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Crime and Justice News Archive
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Report: Public Defense Fees Can Make Justice Unaffordable
Public defense is a right, but it still often come with a price, according to a new report from the Center for Justice Innovation and...
Crime and Justice News
Jan 242 min read
81 views
Idaho Defense Lawyers Quit Under New State Defender System
Many Idaho residents charged with felonies remain in jail because they cannot afford bail, making free and timely access to communicate...
Crime and Justice News
Oct 15, 20241 min read
61 views
Sacramento Deputy DAs, Public Defenders Strike For Fair Pay
Approximately 250 attorneys from Sacramento County's government commenced a strike on Monday, contending that equitable wages are...
Crime and Justice News
Aug 27, 20242 min read
15 views
ACLU Sues over Public Defender Underfunding in Pennsylvania
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth, alleging that the state's underfunding of...
Crime and Justice News
Jun 14, 20241 min read
14 views
Amid WA Public Defender Shortage, It's 'Justice By Geography'
Too few public defenders and too many cases are stressing the Washington state criminal justice system, with counties struggling to...
Crime and Justice News
Jun 3, 20242 min read
156 views
Illinois Public Defenders Struggle Amid Staff Shortage
Elisabeth Pollock, chief public defender in Champaign County, Ill., oversees fourteen attorneys who collectively manage up to 200 cases...
Crime and Justice News
May 28, 20242 min read
28 views
Mississippi Lawmakers Fail To Implement Public Defense Reforms
In July of last year, the Mississippi Supreme Court imposed new public defense requirements that mandated counties provide free legal...
Crime and Justice News
May 2, 20241 min read
21 views
Senate Democrats Urge Full Funding for Fed Public Defenders
As budget constraints threaten to shrink the federal judiciary’s already barebones staff of public defense attorneys, a group of Senate...
Crime and Justice News
Mar 6, 20241 min read
24 views
Louisina Public Defender Proposal Raises Criticism
A proposal to move Louisiana’s public defender system under the governor’s direct control has alarmed attorneys, local defense attorneys...
Crime and Justice News
Feb 20, 20242 min read
48 views
Arizona Pushes to Revive Law Limiting Defense Access to Victims
The state of Arizona defended before a Ninth Circuit panel Monday a law that prohibits criminal defense attorneys from contacting victims...
Crime and Justice News
Feb 6, 20241 min read
55 views
Man Charged in Fourth of July Shooting Will Represent Himself
Robert Crimo III, the man accused of killing seven people at a July Fourth parade in suburban Chicago last year fired his public...
Crime and Justice News
Dec 12, 20231 min read
8 views
DOJ: 'Open Question' Whether Gideon's Public Defense Vow Works
In 1963, the Supreme Court decided in Gideon v. Wainwright that, for criminal cases to be fair, defense lawyers are “necessities, not...
Crime and Justice News
Nov 24, 20232 min read
69 views
How Holistic Public Defense Can Help Cut Mass Incarceration
Five years ago, a public defender's office in Delaware became one of two two-year pilot programs for Partners for Justice (PFJ), a...
Crime and Justice News
Oct 10, 20232 min read
137 views
Democratic Senators Seek More Funds For Federal Public Defenders
Twenty-three Democratic U.S. senators are urging congressional appropriators to increase spending on federal public defenders beyond what...
Crime and Justice News
Oct 9, 20232 min read
21 views
Study Recommends New Public Defender Standards, Guidelines
The half-a-century old national standards for public defender caseloads are too broad and high to allow for adequate representation of...
Crime and Justice News
Sep 14, 20232 min read
65 views
Public Defense Systems: Underfunded and Overburdened
From Democratic-leaning states like Oregon, through swing states like Pennsylvania and into deep-red states like Mississippi, a national...
Crime and Justice News
Aug 24, 20232 min read
50 views
Defense Counsel 'Deserts' Grow in Rural U.S.
Chronic underfunding and understaffing of public defender systems in many states has created "legal deserts" in mostly rural places where...
Crime and Justice News
Jul 17, 20232 min read
52 views
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, Lawmakers Work to End Public Defender Fees
New Jersey has long billed criminal defendants who use public defenders because they cannot afford legal representation. Those fees could...
Crime and Justice News
Jun 20, 20232 min read
17 views
60 Years After Gideon, Public Defenders Underpaid, Shortstaffed
Much of the nation’s public defense work for the poor is impeded by inadequate funding, short staffing, and staggering caseloads, reports...
Crime and Justice News
Mar 17, 20232 min read
38 views
Fourth Amendment Center Helps Defense Attorneys With Tech Issues
The first time Caleb Kenyon, a Florida criminal defense attorney, saw a geofence warrant was when a new client received an alarming...
Crime and Justice News
Feb 24, 20232 min read
49 views
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