American justice

[Steely Glint]

Years in Prison: 14
Guilty: No
Prosecutors Hide Evidence: Yes
Compensation: $0.00
Who Decided: Supreme Court

I am shocked, SHOCKED, that the guy is black.

[coinich]

Years in Prison: 14
Guilty: No
Prosecutors Hide Evidence: Yes
Compensation: $0.00
Who Decided: Supreme Court

The US is exceptional that way.

I am shocked, SHOCKED, that the guy is black.

We discussed this actual case in my Poli Sci class last week. Essentially, the ruling came down to prosecutional immunity. All prosecutors are immune to civil suits referring to their duties. The problem was that the prosecutor died two years before the revelations came to light, meaning the victim could not file any other suit; the prosecutor was dead. The civil suit then became invalid because of the immunity, which the Supreme Court upheld.

Doesn't mean that I like the situation at all, but those are the facts as I understand them.

[GGT]

Public Defenders Stretched Thin by State Cuts

By NATHAN KOPPEL

States and counties struggling to balance their budgets are cutting spending on public defenders, a move some lawyers say is compromising criminal defendants' constitutional right to counsel.

Providing for that right, enshrined in a 1963 Supreme Court ruling, has grown increasingly expensive amid a dramatic rise in arrests and prosecutions in recent decades.

Spending on indigent defense rose from about $1 billion in 1986 to roughly $5.3 billion in 2008, according to a 2010 report released by the American Bar Association. The increase was partly in response to litigation challenging the adequacy of funding for indigent defense, lawyers said.

The austerity moves stemming from funding constraints these days include laying off public defenders, holding the line on salaries, and reducing spending on the defense's case investigators and staff training.

"The system is not allowing us to provide competent representation," said Edward Monahan, the head of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, which lost about $500,000, or 1.5%, of its funding this year, and faces an additional 2.5% budget cut in the coming fiscal year.

"We are running caseloads in excess of 450 per lawyer....With additional budget cuts to be imposed in [2012] and case assignments continuing to rise, average caseloads will likely exceed 500 new cases per year."

States and counties making cuts under severe budget pressure say they are committed to providing adequate funding for public defenders and that most government departments are making do with less.

"We are having to make cuts no one would desire," said Don Nottoli, a member of the of the Board of Supervisors in California's Sacramento County, whose public defender laid off 34 attorneys this fiscal year and is projected to lose a further 31 lawyers next year, roughly 50% in total staff reductions.

The county, Mr. Nottoli said, has been forced to slash spending by hundreds of millions of dollars in the past three years and lay off more than 1,200 employees. "We are just trying to meet our obligations as best we can with the resources we have."

Many states are seeking spending cuts on public defenders, including some by as much as 10% to 15%, according to David Carroll, research director with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, a nonprofit group that advocates for better representation for the poor.

Swaths of other legal services in the criminal justice system have come under the budget scalpel. Some states have fired or not replaced police officers and prosecutors, for example. "Across the country, [prosecutors' offices] have been laying people off, furloughing prosecutors, and encouraging early retirement," said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association.

But public defenders face unique pressures since they are legally required to represent indigent defendants and to do so in a competent manner, criminal defense lawyers say.

Michael Studebaker, a Utah-based attorney who has represented indigent defendants, has filed several suits against government officials in Weber County claiming its decision to cut spending on legal aid in recent years has jeopardized defendants' right to counsel. "Everyone is trying to get by with less," said Frank Mylar, an attorney for the county. "Weber County is not aware of any constitutionally deficient representation resulting from the budget cuts."

The result of spending cuts, attorneys say, is that defenders must prioritize legal services. Minnesota, which has lost 65 public-defender jobs or about 15% of the staff since 2008, has decided to forgo representing criminal defendants during bail hearings, according to John Stuart, the state's chief public defender.

Mr. Stuart noted that the state isn't legally required to provide counsel for these types of hearings, though it must provide representation later in a case.

"We are down to the bare bones, staff-wise," he said. "We can't do things that would be helpful or useful or nice."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...tTopHighlights

One of those constitutional rights being whittled away with budgets?

[agamemnus]

Source?

AFAIK being held till trial is not something worthy of compensation. Bail isn't determined based on guilt, but is based on how likely one is to flee, and you aren't compensated for that time of being held. Some counties/states have limits that kick in, like being held for 6 months qualifies you for some sort of minimal compensation, but by that point your life is already fucked. Even without trial, most places allow police to hold you in custody for several days without charges being filed.

The source is TV. That's all I can remember.. what you say actually happens seems very wrong, at least morally, that is.


470 Taliban escape from an Afghan jail..

I keep hearing these jailbreaks in various backward countries (Pakistan, Yemen, Mexico, etc...) over and over.. 200, 100... 50 there, 500 here... pretty soon, it adds up. As bad as our prison system is, we don't have these kinds of jailbreaks here.