Public Defenders

Judge Who Gave Lawyer Gag Sex Book Gets Reprimand for Delayed Recusal

Corrected: A New Mexico judge who was open to the possibility of romantic relationship with an assistant public defender to whom he gave a gag sex-book gift during a take-out lunch one Friday in a local park should have immediately recused himself from hearing her cases. Because Bernalillo County District…

Jun 20, 2011 8:44 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Decide Right to Effective Assistance on Habeas Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an appeal that involves claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at both the trial and habeas levels. SCOTUSblog calls the cert grant “a big deal in habeas law.” The issue is whether a defendant has a right to effective assistance of…

Jun 7, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Michigan Public Defender System One of the Worst, ACLU Says

When it comes to state public defender programs, Michigan’s is one of the worst, the American Civil Liberties Union reports in a report released yesterday. The paper, “Faces of Failing Public Defense Systems: Portraits of Michigan’s Constitutional Crisis” (PDF), says that the state’s 83 county public defenders’ offices—each with their…

May 18, 2011 6:50 PM CDT

Death Penalty Lawyers Want Withdrawal of Pa. Chief Justice Opinion Calling Them Abusive

Ronald D. Castille, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, lashed out last month at defense lawyers representing death row inmate Mark Spotz, claiming that the mostly federally funded work for the accused murderer was intentionally “abusive,” taking up as much court time and resources as possible. The filing…

May 16, 2011 7:39 PM CDT

Inmate Who Allegedly Stabbed Lawyer with Pencil Accused of Repeat Assault on New Counsel

A Washington state inmate apparently has a problem with lawyers and pencils. The Snohomish County inmate, Joshua Monson, 27, was assigned a new lawyer on Thursday after he was accused of stabbing his first attorney with a pencil in court last Monday. On Friday, Monson was appearing in a court…

May 16, 2011 10:59 AM CDT

Public Defenders Feeling Budget Pinch, 450-Per-Lawyer Caseloads

Already strapped for cash, states and local jurisdictions are turning to cuts in spending on public defenders, leading to higher caseloads and threats to defendants’ constitutional right to counsel. “The system is not allowing us to provide competent representation,” Edward Monahan, the head of Kentucky’s Department of Public Advocacy, told…

Apr 15, 2011 6:40 PM CDT

Law Grad Agrees Not to Auction Sirhan Papers After RFK Killer’s Counsel Argues Parole Issue

A law school graduate has agreed not to auction papers he obtained from convicted Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan after the inmate’s lawyer said they could be critical to his client’s parole effort and threatened to sue to prevent the sale. Would-be seller Michael McCowan is now a 78-year-old…

Apr 13, 2011 11:58 AM CDT

DA Budget Woes: Job Threats in Wisconsin, and a Standoff Over Budget Cuts in Nevada

Standoffs between prosecutors and budget officials have reached new levels in Wisconsin and Nevada. In Nevada, Clark County District Attorney David Roger said he won’t comply with a request to cut 9 percent from his budget, according to the Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review Journal. Roger said…

Apr 8, 2011 1:14 PM CDT

Late Save: Restoring FDIC Backing for IOLTAs Averts an Ethics Dilemma

Programs covering interest on lawyer trust accounts have taken a pounding lately. IOLTA programs—which exist in every state plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands—have become a key source of funding support for civil legal aid to the poor and initiatives to improve the justice system. But in…

Apr 1, 2011 7:10 AM CDT

Irked at His Lawyer in $100 Ticket Case, Man Punches Her in Face, Gets 2-Year Prison Term

Corrected: Apparently irritated at a deputy public defender representing him on a marijuana citation that could, at most, have resulted in a $100 fine, a California man punched her in the face last year at the West Justice Center in Westminster, knocking her head against the wall and breaking her…

Mar 26, 2011 12:51 AM CDT

We Need Judges to Work Harder, So We Should Pay Them More Money, Lawmaker Says

We need judges to work harder to bring a heavy backlog of undecided cases under control. So we should pay those who step up to the plate and get the job done more money, an influential Florida lawmaker is suggesting. Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, chairs the budget committee and…

Mar 23, 2011 8:49 PM CDT

Ordered to Wear ‘Spit Guard’ at Trial After Targeting Attorney, Defendant Looks Like Hannibal Lecter

A defendant in a Florida rape trial is going to sit in front of the jury looking more than a bit like Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs after a judge ordered him to wear a “spit guard” throughout the proceeding that covers his nose and the lower…

Mar 22, 2011 6:18 PM CDT

Did Renowned Journalism Prof Known for Innocence Work Give Evidence Only to the Defense?

Renowned for his work in helping those wrongfully convicted prove their innocence, a high-profile Northwestern University journalism professor is apparently benched from teaching his popular investigative reporting course this spring. David Protess was initially defended by Northwestern when prosecutors in a Cook County, Ill., case contended that they were entitled…

Mar 18, 2011 11:09 PM CDT

Story of New Law Grad’s Work on Tim McVeigh’s Defense Team Is Headed to Hollywood

As 1996 neared an end, Chad Wold’s life course seemed set. The recent law school graduate was getting settled in Montana, where he was about to get married and study for the bar exam. But then, in a stunning development that illustrates the power of networking, came a phone call…

Mar 17, 2011 7:52 PM CDT

Lawyers Oppose Mass. Gov’s Budget Proposal to Replace Contract Lawyers with Full-Time PDs

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick suggested in his 2012 budget proposal that the state eliminate 3,000 contract attorney positions from its indigent legal defense program in an effort to save $48 million. The contract attorneys in the Committee for Public Counsel Services would be replaced with 1,000 public defenders, according to…

Mar 14, 2011 5:44 PM CDT