The United States criminal justice system is in crisis. The evidence is clear that some states fail to provide adequate funds, standards, training and staffing for public defender offices. Other areas do not have public defender offices and instead contract with the lowest bidder to provide representation for defendants who cannot afford lawyers. There are even jurisdictions where some defendants are not provided with lawyers, even though the Constitution requires it. Two years ago, on the 40th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Constitution Project and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association formed a partnership–funded by several organizations–to consider the way in which the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel actually functions in criminal cases throughout the United States. They created the National Committee on the Right to Counsel. http://www.constitutionproject.org/rc/index.html
The Committee brings together an extraordinary group of Americans, those with experience as judges, prosecutors, defenders, victim advocates, academics, law enforcers and policymakers, to examine whether poor defendants are being provided with competent, experienced lawyers who have the necessary resources to defend them, and to create consensus recommendations for any necessary reforms.
The honorary chairs of the bipartisan committee are former Transportation Secretary William Coleman and former Vice President Walter Mondale. The three committee co-chairs bring diverse experiences as a president of the National District Attorneys Association, a former federal appeals judge, and a retired state supreme court justice. The two Reporters to the Committee are Professors Mary Sue Backus of the University of Oklahoma and Paul Marcus of the College of William and Mary.
Professors Backus and Marcus will be with us on Monday, March 6 and will make a presentation exploring the evidence found by the Committee, the practice implications of that evidence, and recommendations for change.