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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Public Defender

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The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution gives indigent individuals that are charged with a felony the right to counsel. Indigents are defendants that can not afford to pay for a private attorney so the court provides them with one that the government pays for. There are three different ways that an indigent defendant in the United States can receive their court-appointed attorney. The judge could appoint a private practice attorney to represent someone and this is called assigned counsel and happens on a case-by case basis when the judge feels that it is best for the defendant. There are contract systems that provide representation to indigent defendants. Contract systems are attorneys that are hired for a certain amount of money that …show more content…

The main advantage of a public defender is that their services are free so a defendant is sure to have representation. Public defenders have lots of experience and knowledge working in the same court's day after day so they will build a professional relationship with the other people that work in the courts everyday and can work out the best possible deal for their defendant.(Minick Law, 2014) The public defender's office has access to many legal aides that could help in a persons case. Public defenders are usually able to provide early representation and can be with their defendants as early as the initial appearance (Neubaur & Fradella, 2014) which can make the defendants feel more comfortable and know they have someone on their side as their case goes through the criminal justice process. There are also disadvantages of using a public defender because of the overwhelming amount of cases that the public defender's office has they may not be able to devote as much time as needed to each and …show more content…

(Minick, 2014) The large caseloads means that there will not be as much face to face time that you would receive if a person was able to hire a private attorney and possible the public defender would not have as much fight in them to win your case as a self pay lawyer might. There are also advantage and disadvantage of having a private practice attorneys appointed as Assigned Counsel. Many critics of the Assigned Counsel say that these attorneys are the least-qualified attorneys that represent these defendants although they might be great attorneys in other area criminal case are not what they specialize in. The Assigned Counsel do get paid but at a much lower rate than what they charge in their private practice so they might want to hurt and get the case over with so that they could go back to their other case where they make more money.(Neubaur & Fradella, 2014) On the plus side if you get a attorney as a Assigned Counsel you could get more face to face time than you would with a public defender and their caseload would not be as high as a public defender. No matter what type of representation an indigent receives the government must pay and the person will have an attorney present with them to help guide them through

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In a retributive justice system, the state is tasked with bringing Blanco-Garcia to justice. The state will accuse Blanco-Garcia of murdering Vanessa Pham and hold an adversarial trial to determine whether he is guilty of the crime or not. An appointed defense attorney (DA) will represent Blanco-Garcia at trial. Due process demands that the defendant is afforded legal representation to argue matters of law on his behalf as well as to protect the defendant’s other due process rights. Likewise, the state will also be represented by a legal agent, the commonwealth attorney (CA).

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Application: In the case of Betts v. Brady, Betts was brought to trial on robbery charges and, like Gideon, could not afford an attorney and was refused to be provided with one. He, too, was forced to represent himself and found guilty. While serving his sentence, the Betts filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, with the circuit court, claiming he had been deprived the right to assistance of counsel, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. His initial petition was rejected, and then he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, again asserting he was denied his Fourteenth Amendment constitutional right to be represented by

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This posed two main Constitutional questions: Do non-capital felony defendants still get the sixth amendment?s right to counsel in state courts? Should all states have to provide counsel in their courts for indigent defendants just as federal courts do, no matter what type of case it may be? (Street Law, 2012) The case of Gideon v. Wainwright helped bring into light and define the full rights of the accused. Through dealing with the sixth amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, it focused on the key aspect of appointing counsel for any defendant, and made one way our country handles criminal justice synonymous between state and federal

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This means that those charged with lesser crimes are pushed to the back of their caseloads. Public defenders are overworked and underpaid meaning that many times they cannot do their job to the best of their abilities. Sadly because of this system, many of their clients sit in holding cells for months or years, awaiting for a trial that is continually pushed off by their attorney. While the system of free public defenders seemed like an equal foot for criminal clients to stand on in the justice system, it is in reality a very messy and disorganized system that overlooks those without the most pressing issue. Gideon V. Wainright was a landmark case, arguably one of the most important cases of the sixties.

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CSU Long Beach, Political Science Department at Long Beach Municipal and Superior Court, Long Beach CA Legal Apprentice and Researcher 1996-1997 • Conducted political research on the public defender system and provided analysis by viewing, discussing and summarizing judicial procedure(s) and Trial Judge, District Attorney, Public Defender to gain a better understanding of the efficacy of the public defender system on criminal proceedings in Long Beach and its need for key structural improvement. Accomplishments: After reading Gideon’s Trumpet as a context by which to explore and analyze the public defenders system and the social injustices that often occur, as reference by the main characters denial of his legal right to receive legal counsel in his defense in a Florida court; I related my reading and first hand experiences, observations and findings on the efficacy or lack thereof of the Public Defenders system to supervising professors at the CSU Long Beach, Department of Political Science in an attempt to suggest needed improvements to the criminal justice and judicial system. CSU Long Beach, Office of Affirmative Action - Long Beach,

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When a person has been charged with a crime, it's after the police have conducted an investigation. There are many times when the investigation has caused the police to arrest the wrong individual. The accused has the right to have their own investigation conducted by professional detectives working for the defense. Defense attorneys can have their own in-house criminal defense investigator to find facts and evidence that will proclaim their clients' innocence. (-- removed HTML --) Associate Degree Criminal Justice (-- removed HTML --)

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To be denied of help when you're indigent is like taking a man’s soul away. Clarence Earl Gideon was far from a hero to the courts. In 1963 Gideon was charged with breaking and entering. It's puzzling to me that one was unable to help himself even if there was a crime being committed and the court system just brushed him off by denying him a court appointed attorney. What would be a misdemeanor in the state of Mississippi is considered a Felony in the state of Florida.

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Having a lawyer by your side can take the burden and stress of off you. Now you have somebody to guide you through the legal process and somebody that will fight for your innocence, whether you are guilty or not. The number of people currently incarcerated is about 2

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A defense attorney represents the accused from arrest to final appeal. An individual accused of a crime has a constitutional right to counsel during every stage in the criminal process. Defense attorneys represent their clients before trial starting from arrest and through interrogation, lineup, and arraignment. They may negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutor to avert a trial or defend their client at trial. Defense attorneys provide assistance at sentencing and appeal if the accused is convicted.

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“Due to the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), each State in the United States must have a way to offer representation to indigent defendants or defendants who cannot afford one for themselves”(“Private Lawyer,” 2015). You have three options for representation in court. You have self-representation, public defender and private attorney. Self-representation should be your last option because most individuals are not familiar with the law. The only people that self-represent their self is lawyers, judges, prosecutors.

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As such, people who are facing these types of charges may benefit from obtaining legal representation. An attorney may explain their rights and options, as well as help them to develop a thorough criminal

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There is no way defenders could realistically do an adequate job on each case if they do not have enough time to review the case, and build a strong foundational argument. There is on average 5 million cases per year are given to public defenders (Peng). Therefore Mrs. Tina Ping stated, “An unconstitutionally high caseload means that I often see my new clients only once in those two months. It means that I miss filing important motions, that I am unable to properly prepare for every trial, that I have serious conversations about plea bargains with my clients in open court because I did not spend enough time conducting confidential visits with them in jail. I plead some of my clients to felony convictions on the day I meet them.

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Without this the whole system would collapse if lawyers choose not to represent based on feelings and not facts. Lawyers have other obligations as well when it comes to representing clients. If a defense attorney believes a client is guilty they must still protect the client from abuse of the eighth amendment. The eighth amendment states that no cruel and unusual punishment may be inflicted. If a client is being prosecuted for breaking and entry it is the lawyers

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All around the world, there is a rapid increase in urbanization which primarily results in the physical growth of urban areas. Therefore cities are growing quicker and as a result, they are changing economically, spatially and socially. Properties within cities are becoming increasingly more expensive with an escalation in demand and therefore older buildings are being revamped as new economic groups enter the neighbourhood. Gentrification is the process whereby younger, middle and upper-income households migrate into the centrally located urban neighbourhoods, such as Woodstock in Cape Town, and the accompanying upgrading of rundown properties that previously had filtered down to lower-income tenants (Levy, D; 1984). It is also linked to the consequent changes in the neighbourhood’s character and culture which can result in the effects and benefits of gentrification not being evenly shared and distributed.

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