GateHouse Media
May 11, 2018
More than 50 years ago, Gideon v. Wainwright was argued
before the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court unanimously ruled that state
courts are required to provide legal counsel for those defendants accused of a
crime who cannot afford a lawyer.
Today, the right to counsel is firmly rooted in the American
criminal justice system but the lack of funding has put competent
representation at risk.
Clarence Earl Gideon was a 51-year-old drifter and
petty-thief. He was charged with breaking and entering in Florida. The charge
was a felony and when Gideon first appeared before the court he was without
funds, without counsel and he asked the court to appoint him a lawyer.
After all, the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
provides, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ...
to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
The judge apologized to Gideon and said that Florida law
only provides for counsel in capital cases. Gideon replied, “The United States
Supreme Court says I am entitled to be represented by counsel.”
Gideon represented himself, was convicted and appealed to
the Florida Supreme Court. His appeal was denied and his case made its way to
the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court appointed a very capable
attorney, Abe Fortas, to represent Gideon. Fortas would one day take a seat on
the Supreme Court.
Fortas’ argument before the court was deliberate, learned
and convincing. Fortas told the court that the federal government already
recognized that the Sixth Amendment required the appointment of counsel for
indigent defendants facing felony charges.
More than a half-century after Gideon the focus has evolved
from merely the right to counsel — to the right to effective representation.
That representation has turned from insuring a fair trial to ensuring effective
assistance on matters such as plea bargaining and the collateral consequences
of sentencing.
As states and local municipalities struggle with declining
budget revenues, the more important issue today is how will public defenders
and court-appointed counsel react to fewer dollars for indigent defense?
The right to effective counsel for indigent defense may be
in peril.
When it comes to legal services, you get what you pay for
and Pennsylvania, for instance, pays nothing. Pennsylvania stands alone among
the 50 states in its steadfast refusal to allocate any money in the state
budget for indigent criminal defense.
Instead, it is up to each Pennsylvania county to design, and
pay for, a system to provide legal representation to the poor. The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court has said that indigent defendants can sue for adequate
representation.
Pennsylvania is only the tip of the iceberg.
Recently, public defenders across Massachusetts demonstrated
against low pay — average base salary is $47,500 a year — and their lack of
collective bargaining power as state employees, according to the Huffington
Post.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action
lawsuit against Missouri’s public-defender system.
The lawsuit is on behalf of five Missouri residents accused
of a crime and involved in the state’s criminal justice system. The suit
alleges that public defenders are failing to provide low income defendants with
their constitutionally guaranteed right to legal counsel. According to The
Atlantic, the 53-page complaint depicts an overwhelmed system in which too few
lawyers are burdened with too many cases and, as a result, too little time to
properly defend their clients in court.
The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed a lawsuit
against the state of Nevada for allegedly neglecting the constitutional rights
of low income defendants in rural counties. The suit alleges that some county
judges appoint untrained, inexperienced private attorneys to defend the poor.
In the Pennsylvania case authorizing indigent defendants to
sue counties to ensure that public defender’s offices are more adequately
funded, state Supreme Court Justice David Wecht warned, ”[T]he level of funding
provided by a county to operate a public defender’s office has left that office
incapable of complying with Gideon creating the likelihood of a systematic,
widespread constructive denial of counsel in contravention of the Sixth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010 was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
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