“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” (US Const., 8th Amend.) As shown in the constitution the right to counsel for the defense is a key right in our judicial system. The role of the public-defender office is one of utmost importance and rightfully so; every day various arrests are made in relation to all sorts of crimes. As a result many of those who face charges will hire an attorney to provide them with legal assistance. However it is no secret that attorney fees can be quite costly and not everyone can afford to spend such large sums of money at any given point in time. To allow equal access, the government spends millions of taxpayer dollars on the public defense system. These offices and their employees are considered to be part of the Judicial Branch. Their purpose is to provide indigent defendants with access to trained attorneys, which in turn provide them with free legal assistance in regards to their respective case. However, with such a large and important task, this system has key issues that raise the following questions: Is there a standard for the service provided by the attorney that is met by the public defenders? Do these attorneys receive adequate training and funds in order to represent indigent defendants equally? Should the defendants be appointed attorneys who are equal to... ... middle of paper ... ...r: The Case for a Structural Injunction to Improve Indigent Defense Services” The Yale Law Journal 101.2 (1991): 481-504. • Fahringer, Philip. “Equal Protection and the indigent degendant: Griffin and its progeny” Stanford Law Review 16.22 (1964): 394-415. • Ogletree, Charles J. “An Essay on the New Public Defender for the 21st Century” Law and Contemporary Problems 58.1 (1995): 81-93. • Schwarzer, William W. “Dealing with Incompetent Counsel: The Trial Judge's Role” Harvard Law Review 93.4 (1980): 633-669. • Kemper, Bob. “Right to Counsel: Landmark Decision Falls Short of Promise” nacdl.org. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, n.p. web. Sept. 2009. • “Right to Counsel” schr.org. The Law Office of the Southern Center for Human Rights, n.d. n.p. • Siegel, Larry. Essentials of Criminal Justice. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Pagan writes a captivating story mingled with the challenges of the Eastern Shore legal system. This book gives a complete explanation backed up by research and similar cases as evidence of the ever-changing legal system. It should be a required reading for a history or law student.
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Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 27, Issue 2 (Fall 2011), pp. 347-360 Volokh, Eugene 27 Const. Comment. 347 (2010-2011)
There are certain standards that the courts use to determine competency. In order to find the accused competent, a court should find out by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant has remarkable ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational indulgence. The def...
In this paper I’m going to discuss what is the 6th amendment right, the elements of ineffective counsel, how judges deem a person as ineffective counsel from an effective counsel, cases where defendants believed their counsel was ineffective and judges ruled them effective. I will also start by defining what is the 6th amendment right and stating the elements of an ineffective counsel. The 6th amendment is the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury if the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause if the accusation; to be confronted with the witness against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense (U.S. Constitution). There were two elements to ineffective assistance of counsel: a defendant must prove that his or her trial attorney/ lawyer performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors the results of the proceeding would have been different (Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 1984).
Schultz, David, and John R. Vile. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. 710-712. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Virtual Reference Library, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
Remy, Richard C., Gary E. Clayton, and John J. Patrick. "Supreme Court Cases." Civics Today. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2008. 796. Print.
people in these 21st century society wonder, “When is Justice to be done?” For district attorneys,
pp. pp. pp Kay, H. H. (2004, Jan). Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Professor of Law.
Oct 1993. Retrieved November 18, 2010. Vol. 79. 134 pages (Document ID: 0747-0088) Published by American Bar Association
... middle of paper ... ... Gonzaga Law Review 33.3 (1998): 653-668. HeinOnline.com -.
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