Across the country there have been a number of class action lawsuits challenging public defense delivery systems which fail to ensure constitutionally effective representation. In many instances these lawsuits have been the catalyst for change, calling attention to the injustices that occur when states fail to fulfill their 6th Amendment obligations. 

The explosive growth of misdemeanor cases is placing a staggering burden on America's courts. Defenders across the country are forced to carry unethical caseloads that leave too little time for clients to be properly represented. As a result, constitutional obligations are left unmet and taxpayers' money is wasted. [Released April 2009]

When a person is accused of a crime, the U.S. Constitution guarantees that person the right to a lawyer even if they cannot afford one. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this basic principle more than a half century ago in Gideon v. Wainwright, and in subsequent cases that expanded the right to misdemeanor prosecutions. Yet this right is violated every day in South Carolina’s magistrate and municipal courts – collectively referred to as summary courts – where scores of people are convicted, sentenced, and sometimes incarcerated, without having been represented by counsel. [Released April 2016]

The crisis in public defense in Louisiana has been well-documented by the news media over the past several years. Stories of overloaded public defenders, unrepresented individuals languishing in jail, and mass pleas have shocked the nation’s conscience, but the system’s shortcomings have long evaded reform. However, much coverage of the public defense crisis in Louisiana, the state with the highest incarceration rate in the nation, has focused its attention on the consequences of the crisis rather than its causes. [Released March 2017]

Researchers systematically gathered data from magistrate and municipal courts in five counties. The research confirms that there is a pervasive lack of procedural justice and fairness in these courts. Far too many accused persons are not advised of basic constitutional rights, and even when they are, those rights are not respected. [Released January 2017]

The Right to Counsel in State Courts

This 50-state Survey of Right to Counsel Standards documents how states decide when a qualifying individual charged with criminal wrongdoing is entitled to receive appointed counsel. Some states only appoint counsel in cases of actual incarceration following conviction, while others mandate appointed counsel based solely on the fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime. Other states fall between these standards and appoint counsel when a sentence of incarceration is authorized or likely to be imposed following conviction. [Released October 2016]

04-05405 (La. 14th J.D)

An NACDL-supported class action filed by pro bono counsel at Baker Botts LLP and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, the suit alleged that deficiencies in the Calcasieu Parish public defense system were so extreme that defendants were being denied their right to counsel as guaranteed by the U.S. and Louisiana Constitutions. The lawsuit alleged that due to substantial under-funding, public defender clients did not have their cases properly investigated, had infrequent communication with their attorneys, and experienced extraordinary delays in the processing of their cases.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in public defense issues nationwide. Several state and national organizations have filed lawsuits challenging practices that undermine public defense and access to justice. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in many cases in the form of Statements of Interest, on behalf of the plaintiffs. 

Coalition letter to the chairs of the Virginia State Crime Commission regarding the need to implement statewide counsel at first appearance and support public defense systems to ensure its effectiveness.

NACDL letter to the Virginia State Crime Commission regarding the need to implement statewide counsel at first appearance and support public defense systems to ensure its effectiveness.

Joint Comment from TACDL and NACDL