[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 16



USA:

Easing the Burden of Public Defenders: Letters to the Editor:


Re "Citing Workload, Public Lawyers Reject New Cases" (front page, Nov.
9):

The assertion that despite increasingly overwhelming workloads, public
defenders must "tighten their belts" during these times of severe
reductions in state and local revenues is an affront to the constitutional
guarantee of effective assistance of counsel for indigent criminal
defendants.

We must not shortchange our Constitution regardless of our economic woes.
There are, however, huge savings to be had that would substantially reduce
the financial burden on public defenders offices and other components of
our criminal justice system while maintaining our constitutional
commitment to ensuring that all defendants receive quality representation.

As has been established by numerous studies in numerous states, including
California, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee, the repeal
of capital punishment would save taxpayers many millions of dollars a
year.

The time has come for Americans and their elected representatives to
seriously consider whether we can afford our error-prone, discriminatory
and bankrupting death penalty system.

John Holdridge

Director, A.C.L.U. Capital Punishment Project

Durham, N.C., Nov. 10, 2008



To the Editor:


Your article accurately described the difficulties public defenders across
the country are facing as they grapple with increasing caseloads and
diminishing resources. Ethics requires that they resist more cases than
they can effectively handle.

What is not so apparent is how this problem reaches beyond public
defenders and their clients and then to our communities.

Public defense  like the prosecution, the courts and the police  plays a
vital role in ensuring that the justice system works reliably and
efficiently. When the system is working right with adequate resources, the
guilty are convicted, victims get the closure they deserve, the rights of
the innocent are upheld and community safety is maintained.

When public defenders lack the time and resources necessary to prepare a
full and fair defense for each client, the horrible result can be wrongful
convictions that inevitably leave criminals free in our communities.
Public defenders are seriously overworked and underpaid.

States that fail to recognize the importance of public defenders to a
functioning justice system are ultimately playing Russian roulette with
our safety.

John Wesley Hall

President, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 10, 2008



To the Editor:


I just got back from working an arraignment shift, and decided to check my
e-mail before I left for the Elmhurst Hospital prison psychiatric ward,
where I need to interview a client who has been waiting for an arraignment
since last Sunday (first arrest, minor charges). It is Saturday. I need to
interview her tonight, because I don't have enough time to conduct a
proper interview on Monday, which is her arraignment date.

On Monday, I have to handle 7 cases in 4 court parts, including 3 cases on
which hearings are supposed to occur, and must attend a psychiatric
examination as well as make time for this arraignment.

These 7 cases include 2 assault, a contempt, a burglary, an attempted
murder of a corrections officer, and a homicide case.

A rare-bookseller friend of mine e-mailed me your article, which I then
e-mailed to the lawyers in my office. One of my colleagues promptly
replied (from her office): "I can't believe you are in the office. Get a
life (LOL)."

This is the life of a public defender.

Mary Beth Anderson

Kew Gardens, Queens, Nov. 8, 2008

The writer is a mental health lawyer with the Legal Aid Societys criminal
defense practice.

(source: Letters to the Editor, New York Times)