Right to Counsel
Nearly 50 years after the Supreme Court, in Gideon v. Wainwright, recognized the constitutional right to counsel in certain criminal cases, indigent defense services in the United States remain in a perpetual state of crisis. Many states are unwilling or unable to adequately fund and administer indigent defense delivery systems, particularly in light of the current economic difficulties facing the nation.
As a consequence, states across the country force attorneys to carry excessive caseloads; fail to provide attorneys with investigators, experts and essential support services needed for an adequate defense; neglect to provide meaningful supervision of lawyers; allow significant delays in the appointment of counsel; and refuse to make available on-going training to keep attorneys abreast of ever-evolving criminal justice sciences and other matters related to their professional obligation. These dysfunctional systems of indigent defense prevent lawyers from providing constitutionally and ethically adequate representation of their clients.
The failure to provide constitutionally adequate legal counsel to the accused not only increases the risk of wrongful convictions, but also undermines the legitimacy of the criminal justice system by creating two systems of justice–one for people with means, and an inferior system for the poor. Dysfunctional indigent defense systems also exacerbate racial disparities that persist at every stage of the criminal justice system, as defendants of color are more likely to rely on publicly-funded counsel than whites.
In response to this crisis, the Constitution Project established the National Right to Counsel Committee, whose 2009 report, Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel, set out a road map for states seeking to improve their indigent defense systems. The Constitution Project and its National Right to Counsel Committee have used the recommendations in this report to educate state and federal policymakers and advocate for the critical reforms necessary to achieve a truly fair criminal justice system for all individuals.
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