Pleading the Sixth: Recognizing that the State of Tennessee needs a better way of providing right to counsel services, in September 2015 former Chief Justice Sharon Lee created an Indigent Representation Task Force and challenged them to “build a better mousetrap.”…
Tag: task force
DOJ recommendations for Shelby County, TN place financial burden on the county; Task Force would place responsibility on the state
Pleading the Sixth: For nearly five years, the U.S. Department of Justice has been trying to improve the representation of children in delinquency proceedings in Shelby County (Memphis), Tennessee. As the DOJ seeks to put more indigent defense funding responsibilities on…
In wake of 6AC report, legislative changes are already afoot in Utah
Pleading the Sixth: On the heels of the 6AC report, the Utah Judicial Council adopted a report on October 26, 2015, by an indigent defense study committee calling for significant state actions, including a statewide commission with authority to set…
Support for a White House Commission on the public defense crisis mounts
Pleading the Sixth: On March 15th, 2013 the U.S. Department of Justice hosted an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright. The event was both a celebration of the watershed case’s promise of a meaningful right to counsel,…
Idaho passes initial reforms; Second round of reforms introduced
Pleading the Sixth: The Idaho Senate unanimously passed an initial indigent defense reform package, sending it on for the Governor’s signature. Not content to rest with creating a uniform standard of indigency and barring children from waiving counsel, among others…
Missouri Bar weighs in on workload crisis as the legislature debates privatizing much of the public defender’s work
Pleading the Sixth: A new bill introduced in the Missouri legislature would resolve the public defender caseload crisis by restricting the state public defender to representation in only serious felony cases while privatizing services for all other case-types through low-bid…
Tagged with: caseloads & workloads, contracts, legislation, Missouri, public defender office, task force, Ten Principles
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