Pleading the Sixth: The fear of government unduly taking away one’s liberty led the United States Supreme Court to unanimously declare it an “obvious truth” that no indigent person can be assured a fair trial against the “machinery” of law…
Tag: New Mexico
The State of the Nation on Gideon’s 60th Anniversary
Tagged with: Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, funding, Gideon v. Wainwright, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, oversight, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah
New Mexico’s independent state commission is a “complete game changer”
Pleading the Sixth: The New Mexico chief public defender recently requested the state legislature for a 21% increase in funding. Ten years ago, the chief public defender was fired a week after telling lawmakers that the system was underfunded. 6AC…
2021 Year in Review
By Michael Tartaglia and Kourtney Kinchen 6AC presents this year in review to acknowledge the most significant reforms to how the right to counsel is funded and delivered across the United States. We wish all our readers a happy and…
Tagged with: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, caseloads & workloads, Colorado, Connecticut, criminal justice reform, funding, Idaho, Illinois, indigency - criteria, juvenile delinquencies & status offenses, juvenile transfer hearings, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
Calm down; the New Mexico Supreme Court did not say flat-fee contracts are always constitutional
Pleading the Sixth: Though press reports are generally touting a recent New Mexico Supreme Court opinion as declaring flat fee contracting to be constitutional, the reality is more nuanced. The 6AC walks the reader through the historical background for the…
New Mexico becomes 20th state with independent public defense commission
Pleading the Sixth: On April 5, 2013, the Governor of New Mexico signed a public defender commission bill into law signaling the end of the political practices that led to instability in the chief public defender position. Will this day…
New Mexico legislature begins work on public defender commission bill
Pleading the Sixth: On November 6, 2012, the New Mexico electorate passed a constitutional amendment requiring the creation of an independent public defender commission. In anticipation of the next legislative session, the House Committee for the Courts, Corrections and Justice…
Top