Legal Commentary

Lawsuit Filed Over Indigent Defense in Georgia

By TChris

The public defender crisis in Georgia has prompted new litigation.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday ... in Elbert County Superior Court, says hundreds of defendants unable to afford their own lawyers are not being provided representation as required under law. If lawyers for the defendants are not provided, their cases should be dismissed, the suit says.

Funny how "law and order" legislators are willing to enact new criminal offenses and harsh penalties, but are unwilling to fund indigent defense. How will the "law and order" lawmakers explain the potential dismissal of hundreds of criminal prosecutions caused by their irresponsible budgeting? [more ...]

Georgia legislators apparently don't care that indigent defendants who lack a lawyer are at a severe disadvantage when they try to bumble their way through the criminal justice system.

Those who get a public defender often obtain bond and get released from jail pending trial. They also are able to resolve their cases fairly quickly, [Gerry] Weber [a lawyer with the Southern Center for Human Rights, which filed suit on behalf of five defendants] said. Co-defendants who can’t get a public defender —- or another lawyer to represent them —- sit in jail for months at a time. Many appear at court hearings vulnerable and bewildered, the suit said.

The Sixth Amendment and Gideon v. Wainwright apparently have little meaning to the Georgia legislators who refuse to fund indigent defense adequately. Perhaps a lawsuit that threatens to release hundreds of alleged "bad guys" from their criminal prosecutions will get the legislature's attention.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 08, 2009 (boomark / email).