Access to Counsel

04/22/2013

The Constitution Applies to All Americans, No Matter What They Are Accused Of

By Anthony D. Romero, ACLU at 12:28pm

Our country has been shaken by the events coming out of Boston in the past week. First, of course, there was the tragedy and loss of life...

05/31/2011

Access to Counsel

Michigan’s Crumbling Public Defense System Continues to Lock Up Innocent People

By Arlene Gilbert, Racial Justice Program at 4:58pm

Frederick Mardlin is a 32-year old married father of three who spent three years in jail for a crime that he did not commit. He was wrongfully convicted of burning down his house to collect the insurance. His court-appointed public defense attorney was unable to obtain the funds to retain an electrical expert to testify at his trial. That expert could have testified that the fire was not set intentionally but caused by faulty wiring.

09/14/2012

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

By Alex Stamm, ACLU Center for Justice at 2:27pm

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history.

07/25/2012

Competent Counsel

One Giant Step for Michigan: Indigent Defense Reform is Around the Corner

By Tanya Greene, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, ACLU at 3:22pm

During the many years I practiced as a criminal defense attorney, I filed more pleadings requesting additional resources to investigate facts, more funding to support research into mitigating factors in my clients’ cases, and more time to properly prepare my case than I ever thought I would, or should have to. Unfortunately, the criminal justice systems in which I practiced did not provide sufficient resources for an attorney to be effective in her work representing the poor. Sadly, many systems across the nation face this same challenge.

09/04/2012

Access to Counsel

Hitting Two Birds with One Stone: Strategies for Addressing the Indigent Defense Crisis and Overincarceration

By Vanita Gupta, Center for Justice & Steve Hanlon, Partner, Holland & Knight at 1:07pm

Earlier this year, the Orleans Parish Defenders Office (OPD), which represents more than 80 percent of criminal defendants in Orleans Parish and handled 30,000 cases in 2011, faced a particularly severe fiscal crisis.

08/31/2012

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

By Alex Stamm, ACLU Center for Justice at 2:05pm

10/07/2011

Overincarceration

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

By Rebecca McCray, ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project at 3:56pm

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.

ACLU releases report detailing jail overcrowding in California
The ACLU and the ACLU of Southern California released a report last week detailing a pattern of severe and pervasive abuse of inmates in Los Angeles County jails. California’s severely bloated prison system has contributed to such inhumane conditions, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional earlier this year. As California’s counties attempt to implement the state’s solution to the overcrowding – the “realignment” plan moving certain inmates to county jails - the ACLU continues to closely monitor incarceration conditions and assist counties in implementing the new law.

American Civil Liberties Union