Is the public defender system broken

            Is the public defender system broken

Hello every one i am going to put info on the public defender system on this page you can reed the full text when clicking on the links i hope you enjoy this


So said former former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman S. Fletcher in a July 6 New York Times article about the sad state of our indigent defense system. Basically, Georgia's public defender system — which has been operated by the state rather than by individual counties since 2003 — is majorly underfunded and has often been unable to pay attorneys representing defendants without the means to pay for their own counsel, particularly in capital cases.
Detailed in the Times article is the state's case against Jamie R. Weis, who is accused of burglarizing and murdering a Pike County woman in 2006. Shortly after the prosecution announced it would pursue the death penalty, the state ran out of money to pay Weis' attorneys. In 2007, a Fayette County judge approved a bizarre solution: Despite the justice system's necessarily adversarial nature, the prosecution was allowed to handpick two public defenders to represent Weis, neither of whom felt qualified to defend a capital case. Weis — who continues to wait in county jail for his day in court — is claiming his constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated, a matter that is currently before the Supreme Court.

 http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2010/07/07/is-georgias-public-defender-system-broken


HELENA - Retired Helena Justice of the Peace Wally Jewell is not the only one to raise concerns about Montana's four-year-old Office of the State Public Defender, but his critiques are among the most biting.
In a series of e-mails sent in 2008, even before outside auditors came to similar, albeit more formal, conclusions, Jewell wrote that the agency was a "DAMN MESS!!!"
Just like that. ALL CAPS. Three exclamation points. Actually, what he wrote was this: "I would truly appreciate someone, anyone FIXING THIS DAMN MESS!!"
Elsewhere, Jewell wrote that he was "sick and tired of putting up with this chaos," and explained how a defendant appearing before his court had his case passed from one public defender to another until the day came for a scheduled hearing in the matter and no one from the public defender's office showed up.
The Missoulian's State Bureau obtained the e-mails this summer. They were sent to a long list of recipients.

Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_05e7fca6-9d23-11df-a55a-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1tur7uySj

Louisiana has the highest rate of incarceration of any state in the nation. This statistic should be considered in the context of Louisiana's historic failure to provide adequate resources for its public defense function. Until 2007, Louisiana was the last remaining state to fund the majority of its constitutional obligation through court costs (a scheme that inspired the Washington Post to call it, 'the country's most bizarre'). More than 90% of all criminal defendants in Louisiana rely on a public defender, and are processed through a criminal justice system that is so overworked that trials are rare, attorney-client contact may not happen until months after arrest, local public defense systems experience high turnover and low morale, and wrongfully convicted people are being released after spending decades in prison.

A report on the public defense system in Louisiana in 2004 found a 'disparate system that fosters systemic ineffective assistance of counsel due primarily to inadequate funding and a lack of independence from undue political interference. When combined with the crushing caseloads public defenders are forced to carry, these factors prevent the state from securing justice for all, protecting the peace, and promoting the general welfare of its people. In fact, the indigent defense system is so broken, it calls into question the ability of the entire criminal justice system to dispense justice fairly and accurately.' 

http://lpdb.la.gov/Serving%20The%20Public/Legislation/Louisiana%20Public%20Defender%20Act.php

My thoughts on the public defender system i think it needs more money, as you know people need public defenders because they have little or no money. People need to know that a public defender works for the courts so they get paid by your tax money. Yes their are some bad apples but most of them are good hard working people that try to make a difference.