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"Citing Cuts, Public Defenders Refuse New Cases"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this new article from San Francisco's legal newspaper, The Recorder.  It provides yet another window into how tight budget times are impacting criminal justice systems and also how dysfunction the justice system has become in the nation's most populous state. Here is how the piece starts: Alameda County, Calif.'s public defenders on Monday stopped taking many out-of-custody misdemeanor and probation violation cases, citing the expected loss of 14 attorneys through layoffs on Sept. 4. Public Defender Diane Bellas confirmed in an e-mail that her attorneys have started declaring conflicts of interest "based on overload."  The move is part of a "transition plan," she said. Bellas told county leaders that could shift more than 10,000 cases to a panel of private attorneys over the next year...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 05, 2009 (boomark / email).