Excessive caseloads, inadequate funding, ethical breaches, politicization of the public defender system, lack of timely appointment of counsel or no appointment at all are depriving the poor of their constitutional right to representation in criminal and juvenile cases.

This is the conclusion of a report released April 14 2009 by the Constitution Project’s bipartisan National Right to Counsel Committee.

The report, “Justice Denied: America’s Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel,” outlines the crisis in the country’s public defense system and offers 22 recommendations to state and federal officials to fix it.

The report can be read at www.tcpjusticedenied.org

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently emphasized the importance of the constitutional right to counsel for those charged with a crime who cannot afford lawyers. Yet the report cites numerous cases of individuals wrongfully convicted or incarcerated for months awaiting trial due to a lack of legal representation.

Many, lacking legal counsel, are forced to make decisions on their own that adversely and irreversibly affect their cases. Wrongful convictions waste public funds and erode American trust in the judicial system.

Sources: San Francisco Bayview - click here for full article & The Constitution Project - Justice Denied

Related: Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey - click here