public defender news stories on Newser

Garrido Apologizes, Says 'Sexual Problem' Cured

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:30:37 CST

Phillip Garrido, Jaycee Dugard’s accused kidnapper, says he “would like to apologize to every human being for what has taken place.” In a letter—his third sent to KCRA from prison—Garrido adds that, “through the spirit of Christ,” a “sexual problem believed to be impossible” was ended. Garrido’s lawyer...

Recession Delivers Double Whammy to Legal Aid Offices

Harry Kimball — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:32:02 CDT

The recession has crippled funding for legal aid even as it has bumped up the number of people requesting representation, McClatchy reports. Though the federal government ramped up spending this year—and plans an even bigger increase for 2010—state funding and private donations have cratered, forcing legal aid to...

Burnt-Out Defenders Refuse New Cases

Wesley Oliver — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:56:45 CST

Public defenders are as overworked as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore, the New York Times reports. Arguing that their hectic schedules result in scant attention for clients, government-appointed lawyers around the country are refusing new cases and suing to limit their workload. “The quality of public...

Jury Selection Turns to Facebook, Blogs, Data

Katherine Thompson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:55:01 CDT

Get called for jury duty these days, and you can expect attorneys to know a lot more about you than they let on. Trial consultants who used to specialize in legwork—visiting neighbors and friends to gather clues to potential jurors' views—are now expert Web surfers, tracing things like...

Executions Are Back—So Are Fairness Issues

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:05:39 CDT

The problem with the death penalty isn’t the method of execution, it’s “poor people getting lousy lawyers,” the director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project tells the New York Times . Now that the Supreme Court has green-lighted lethal injection and Georgia has resumed executions, opponents are pointing at shoddy public...