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...

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.

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.

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

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.

American Civil Liberties Union