(But First, Let’s Define What This Means)

The criminal legal system is broken and will remain so until those with power to effect change listen to the people who, for decades, have been marginalized, abused, and victimized by this financially segregated and socially biased system.

Many defense lawyers have experienced prosecutorial misconduct. In confronting the misconduct of prosecutors, defense lawyers must be up to the task of litigating it and making the necessary record to preserve it.

The public’s idolization of the law enforcement industry serves as an impediment to reform. It blinds us from addressing the misdeeds of individual bad actors.

News outlets reported that an overtly racist, and seemingly illegal, written policy to punish Hispanic defendants more harshly than non-Hispanic defendants existed in Jefferson County, Florida.

The judicial shift away from strict protection of Fourth Amendment rights has not been subtle, and the price for this diminution of rights has been severe.

With the death of Tyre Nichols, conversations about police misconduct and accountability begin again.

The expected prosecutions as a result of the Dobbs decision are bearing down on a system already overwhelmed post-COVID. Because of the promise of arrests for those traveling interstate seeking services, defense attorneys may feel an impact even if they do not practice in an abortion-restrictive jurisdiction.

to Public Defenders

Nellie L. King writes about a case of apparent judicial indifference to threats against public defenders and their children that occurred during the sentencing phase of a case.

Jury verdicts represent statements of the community. Respect for a jury’s verdict should not be something about which we need to remind Americans.

Should criminal defense attorneys consider electoral and political stability to be a criminal justice issue?

on the Border

Operation Lone Star, a Texas effort to secure the border, leverages the trial penalty to secure plea bargains. 

No matter what side of the abortion debate you find yourself, as defenders we must appreciate the fact that reversal of Roe would profoundly impact our capacity to defend clients from arbitrary or excessive government power in three significant ways.

We should celebrate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is one of the most qualified judges to have been confirmed to the Court. Her brief service as a public defender, however, does not redress the lack of professional diversity and balance needed for our courts to police the line between government authority and government abuse at the state and federal levels.

Expanding the Reach of Criminal Laws Without Increasing the Burdens on the Prosecution

Many voices have sounded the alarm and are mobilizing to untangle the complex web of laws, rules, and culture that authorize coercive plea bargaining practices.