In the United States, a public defender is a lawyer appointed by the courts and provided by the state or federal governments to represent and advise those charged with a crime or crimes who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Public defenders are full-time attorneys employed by the state or federal governments. The public defender system is one of several types of criminal legal aid, the most common other system being appointed private counsel paid for by the government.
Background and history The Sixth Amendment reads:In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.One of the listed rights granted and guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment is the right to counsel; the right for defendants, who are on trial for criminal charges, to have legal aid in federal courts. The Sixth Amendment's right to counsel is for criminal cases only; it is not for civil cases or charges that do not carry a risk of imprisonment. Initially, this right to counsel referred to a right to bring a private lawyer of the defendant's choice to court, if they had retained one; it did not obligate the government to provide an attorney to a criminal defendant. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the right expanded the right over time in some ways, including that one.
Supreme Court rulings Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932) In 1931 in Scottsboro, Alabama, nine black youths, the "Scottsboro Boys", were placed on trial after two young white women claimed they were raped by the young black men. The day of their trial, the "Scottsboro Boys" were not appointed counsel by the judge and were instead represented by two unqualified people: a real estate agent from Tennessee and an old attorney who had not practiced law in many years. Both legal representatives of the "Scottsboro Boys" had very little information and knowledge about the situation but did not attempt to push back the trial. Every "Scottsboro Boy", except for one, was sentenced to death despite the fact the doctors who checked the two young women did not find any proof of rape.
The case was appealed but reaffirmed by the state supreme court and then appealed again. The case eventually climbed to and caught the eyes and attention of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1932. In a 7–2 vote, the Supreme Court overruled the conviction of the "Scottsboro Boys", stating that trial denied the due process and the equal protection clauses granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the nine men by denying them the right to counsel granted by the Sixth Amendment.
The Supreme Court also ruled that, under the Fourteenth Amendment, the federal and state governments are to give legal counsel for capital crimes, crimes that can result in the death penalty, if the defendant is unable to afford their own private attorneys. This ruling expanded the interpretation of the Sixth Amendment and applied the rights of the Sixth Amendment to the states, not just the federal government, as well.
Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942) The Betts v. Brady case narrowed the interpretation and the understanding that came about from the Powell v. Alabama case. In 1941, a 43-year-old man by the name of Betts was arrested for stealing in the state of Maryland. Betts requested for an attorney, as he lacked the means to do so himself, but his request was denied by the court on the grounds that appointments were only granted to those on trial for capital crimes forcing him to represent himself. Betts was found guilty but attempted to appeal, arguing that the courts refusal to give him an attorney violated rights granted to him in the Fifth and Sixth Amendment such as the right to counsel. He argued that the court's refusal to grant him an attorney was in direct violation to the Supreme Court's decision from Powell v. Alabama.
The Supreme Court, by a 6–3 decision, supported Betts's conviction, sustained the ruling by the lower courts. Associate Justice Owen Roberts, the writer of the Supreme Court's opinion on this case, stated that the precedent set from Powell v. Alabama of appointing legal counsel was not set in stone due to the fact that there are different scenarios where something can appear to be unfair in one situation but not in another. He argued that in Powell v. Alabama, the legal counsel was necessary because the trial itself was prejudiced. Roberts also stated that the concept of appointing counsel was not required for every case by the states. The Court argued that the right to counsel was not one of the fundamental rights protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Ultimately, this ruling would allow the States freedom to decide when to grant the indigent defender legal counsel. The implications of the Supreme Court's decision of this case would last until the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963.
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) The case Gideon v. Wainwright was a landmark case that would set the precedent on how legal counsel would work in the United States. In 1961, a burglary occurred in a poolroom in Florida and a man named Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested by the police on the basis of an eyewitness's testimony. Gideon requested legal counsel as he was unable to afford a lawyer; at the time, Florida only allowed appointed counsel for capital crimes, not lesser crimes like breaking and entering, and thus his request was denied. Florida's system was brought about by the previous Supreme Court Case Betts v. Brady, which allowed states to decide on their own when to offer indigent defense. Gideon was forced to defend himself; despite his hard work, he ended up being sentenced to prison for five years.
Gideon petitioned the Supreme Court on the grounds that he was not provided counsel and thus was denied him of his rights granted by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution and therefore, he was imprisoned on unconstitutional grounds. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the denial of Gideon's request for a lawyer was unconstitutional and that the Sixth Amendment grants the defendant the right to an attorney even if the defendant is unable to pay for one. The Courts ruled that states were required to provide lawyers on the grounds that having lawyers to defend defendants was a necessity. Justice Black, the writer of the Court's opinion, stated:
Justice Black, in keeping with the Court’s decision in Powell v. Alabama, opined that the guiding hand of counsel can prevent an innocent man from being imprisoned falsely. From this point on, all defendants on trial for criminal charges were guaranteed the right to a lawyer, no matter what their financial situation looks like. The Court's decision in this case overturned the previous understanding of legal counsel set by the Court in Betts v. Brady. Gideon v. Wainwright would be the catalyst for the wave of change in criminal justice that the 1950s and 1960s would experience.
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) The Supreme Court case Strickland v. Washington changed the way people interpret the Sixth Amendment by stating that the legal counsel provided to defendants should be reasonably effective. Strickland was placed on trial for murder charges in the state of Florida and was sentenced to death. Strickland appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that his counsel did not fulfill his duty on grounds such as not seeking a psychiatric exam despite the fact Strickland pleaded emotional issues. The Supreme Court ruled 8–1 that effective legal counsel is a right but in order to prove the counsel is ineffective, the defendant needs to prove (1) their lawyer's performance was below a certain standard and (2) there is a chance that if it was not for the ineffectiveness, a different result could have occurred.
Inception of the public defender There had been some provisions for legal counsel for the indigent population prior to Gideon. California's first female attorney, Clara Shortridge Foltz (1849–1934), came up with the idea of the public defender. Foltz was growing concerned with the prosecutors in court, feeling that they served themselves, and believed in the creation of a rival that would mirror the prosecutor, just as qualified but instead of searching for guilt, searching for innocence. Foltz was also inspired by the people she represented in court such as Charles Colby who lamented over spending all that he owned on ineffective legal counsel. She proposed this, at the time, radical idea of the public defender system at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair as well as wrote numerous law articles on the reasoning why the costs of the criminal defendant should be shouldered by the government. One memorable quote from her speech at the Chicago World fair was:
Despite the fact that provisions for indigent legal defense did exist before the creation of the public defender program, Foltz argued the lawyers appointed were unqualified in comparison to the public prosecutors. In fact, she believed that the public defender should be created as a mirror to the public prosecutor; she wished for the selection and the salary to be the same. Her goal of seeing this idea come to fruition saw success when the state of California would see the first public defender office of the United States open in the city of Los Angeles in 1913. Following the creation of the Los Angeles Public Defender office, the public defender program and idea spread throughout the nation.
Gideon served as the catalyst for expansion of public defender programs. Following the landmark 1963 decision, the 1960s witnessed the creation of programs across the country to make this right to counsel available to most people charged with crimes who could not afford an attorney to represent them.
Alternate indigent defense systems The public defender system is not the only form of indigent defense program offered in the United States. Besides the public defender system, there are two other main alternatives: assigned-counsel system and contract-service system. Assigned-counsel is where the court appoints a private lawyer to defend someone who cannot afford to pay. Contract-service is where an attorney is contracted to work for a period of time. These three forms are usually mixed and matched together in different ways in different states. For instance, most states usually use both assigned-counsel and the public defender program side by side. Assigned counsel is usually used when the public defender program is overexerted in the number of cases they have to process or if there is a legal issue of conflict of interest in a case.
State systems In some US states, the office is not titled as "Public Defender"; for example, Kentucky's public defender office is called the Department of Public Advocacy.
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