Public Defenders

Afternoon Briefs: Bail reform ‘as big as Brown v. Board of Education;’ how some rich kids get college aid

• Commissioners in Harris County, Texas, have agreed to reform a cash bail system that had kept many indigent misdemeanor defendants in jail pending trial. A federal appeals court had ruled last year that the bail system was unconstitutional because it mostly relied on set amounts. As a result of…

Jul 31, 2019 4:33 PM CDT

Lawyer held in contempt for recording defendant’s mouth being taped shut on judge’s orders

A public defender in Louisiana has been found in contempt of court for taking out his cellphone and recording a talkative defendant’s mouth being taped shut on a judge’s orders. Judge Marilyn Castle of Lafayette found lawyer Michael Gregory in contempt Friday, fined him $100, and banned him from bringing…

Jul 29, 2019 11:39 AM CDT

He’s 31, he’s a lawyer, and he’s still getting stopped by the police

Late one afternoon in March 2018, I had just left work to meet a friend in Brooklyn when cops stopped me on the street. I had just graduated from law school, so I knew enough to keep my mouth shut. I invoked my rights, but it didn't matter. They still tried to get me to admit to something I didn't do.

Jul 22, 2019 10:16 AM CDT

Police officers illegally use information from arrests that have been sealed, lawsuit says

When a man named J.J. was arrested in the Bronx in 2016, the public defenders assigned to represent him assumed he’d get a good plea deal. After all, it appeared to be a low-level case. J.J. had been a passenger in his friend’s car when police had pulled them over for allegedly failing to signal a turn; the officers then searched the vehicle and found an unlicensed gun inside.

Jul 19, 2019 5:00 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Unlicensed PD’s clients stick with plea deals; lawyer a no-show at sentencing

• Defendants whose plea bargains were handled by an unlicensed public defender in Madison County, Illinois, apparently aren’t interested in a do-over. All but one of the defendants whose cases involved jail time stuck with the same deal they received when the cases were handled by unlicensed law grad Kelcie…

Jul 15, 2019 4:45 PM CDT

Public defender is gored while taking selfie at running of the bulls

A public defender from California thought the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, had ended when he decided to take a video selfie after participating in the opening bull run Sunday. Jaime Alvarez, 46, was not safe, however. A stray bull charged and gored Alvarez in the neck, report…

Jul 10, 2019 2:20 PM CDT

As California lawmakers cut criminal sentences, some district attorneys push back using plea deals

After the jury deadlocked in Victor Hugo Sanchez’s murder trial in February, San Diego prosecutors offered him a deal: plead guilty to manslaughter and spend just 11 years in state prison. But there was an unusual catch. As part of the agreement, Sanchez had to sign away his right to…

Jul 8, 2019 11:55 AM CDT

Public defender accused of working without a law license in over 100 cases

A public defender in New Orleans is under investigation for allegedly practicing law without a license in more than 100 cases. The staff lawyer, Ashley Crawford, was pulled from cases while the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office conducts a criminal investigation, report the New Orleans Advocate, WVUE, WDSU and 4WWL.…

Jun 25, 2019 11:12 AM CDT

Deputy PD accused of ax attack on his family partly blames financial worries

A deputy public defender in California told police that he attacked his family with a splitting maul partly because of financial worries after he learned his wife had about $10,000 in credit card debt, according to a police report. Bail was set at $1.5 million for Theodore Loos, a deputy…

Jun 25, 2019 10:40 AM CDT

Judge accused of trying to cover up chronic tardiness and absenteeism

An Atlanta judge who was chronically late and persistently absent compounded her problems when she tried to cover it up, according to allegations in an ethics complaint filed last Wednesday. According to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, Municipal Judge Terrinee Gundy tried to conceal her tardiness and absences by causing the…

Jun 24, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Federal judge blocks ICE from making civil immigration arrests at courthouses

On Thursday, a federal judge in Boston granted a preliminary injunction that blocks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making civil arrests at state courthouses in Massachusetts. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a suit filed by two district attorneys, public defenders and immigration advocates, report the Boston Globe,…

Jun 21, 2019 4:01 PM CDT

Public defender fired after judge discovers she never passed bar exam

An assistant public defender who gave advice and made “critical decisions” on about 80 cases has been fired after a judge discovered she did not have a law license. The assistant public defender, Kelcie Miller of Edwardsville, Illinois, was fired last week, according to Madison County, Illinois, Public Defender John…

May 30, 2019 10:48 AM CDT

‘Anti-defense bill’ would put public defenders at risk of jail and hamper their work, critics say

Critics say legislation passed by the Louisiana House of Representatives would put public defenders in an ethical quandary and put them at risk of jail time. Dane Ciolino, a law professor at Loyola University at New Orleans, calls the legislation an “anti-defense bill” that is unnecessary and one-sided, the Appeal…

May 13, 2019 9:31 AM CDT

Under newly introduced federal bill, public defenders would get same pay as prosecutors

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a former prosecutor and Democratic 2020 presidential contender, has introduced a bill that would eventually require pay parity for public defenders and prosecutors. The legislation, introduced Wednesday, creates a $250 million grant program for public defense that requires entities receiving funds to establish workload…

May 10, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Public defender had PTSD from representing sex offenders, EEOC says in disability suit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Defender Association of Philadelphia discriminated against a public defender who experienced mental health issues partly from representing sex offenders. The suit, filed April 26 in federal court in Philadelphia, claims that the association violated the Americans with Disabilities…

May 1, 2019 7:30 AM CDT