Fix Prisons So People Don’t Have to Pay for an Upgrade

“The cells,” my client said to me, “smell of piss and shit and blood.” I sat at the table across from him, looking at him awkwardly, wondering what I could say. We were in the middle of a discussion about […]

The High Cost of Bail: How Maryland’s Reliance on Money Bail Jails the Poor and Costs the Community Millions

A November 2016 report by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender concluded that Maryland’s reliance on a wealth-based pretrial detention scheme causes the incarceration of tens of thousands of people due to their inability to pay bail.  The costs […]

It’s the Fox Guarding the Henhouse

This is how Humboldt County defense attorney named Jeff Schwarz reacted to who was making the recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors on who to hire as chief public defender there.  The panel consisted of District Attorney Maggie Fleming, […]

Public Defense Week 2017

March 18, 2017 marks the Second Annual Public Defense Day and the 54th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright! Between the tenacity of our investigators, the astuteness of our paralegals, the steadfastness of our administrative assistants, the creativity of our alternative […]

White Privilege… In My Life

I am a middle aged white woman who has spent the majority of her life around other white people – I have an intrinsic understanding of this invisible stranger that’s always been by my side.  I had honestly never thought […]

Because He Was Wrong on So Much…

I am proud of the fact that the NAPD Steering Committee voted to oppose the nomination of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General of the United States.  I am proud that NAPD disregarded the obvious—that in a US Senate controlled tightly […]

New Study Spotlights Extremely Heavy Workloads in Louisiana’s Public Defender System

This is a reprinting of the American Bar Association press release.  American Bar Association Communications and Media Relations Division www.americanbar.org/news Release:          Immediate Contact:           Bill Choyke Phone:              202-662-1864 Email:               Bill.Choyke@americanbar.org Online:             http://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2017/02/new_study_spotlights.html New study spotlights extremely heavy workloads in Louisiana’s public […]

On Humiliation and Juvenile “Justice”

A few weeks ago, I sat in court next to a fifteen year old client. He was being held in secure detention but I was hopeful that the judge would agree to his release with several conditions. I spoke with […]

Race Judicata – January Issue

The NC Public Defender Commission on Racial Equity (NC PDCORE) is a committee of the North Carolina Public Defender Association. The mission of NC PDCORE is to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system […]

Balancing the Scales: Judge Waives Fees for Indigent Defendants

Judge Mark Cummings is a newly elected judge in the 18th Judicial District of North Carolina. He is a Greensboro native, where he attended James B. Dudley High School. Judge Cummings received his Bachelor’s degree from Sewanee: The University of […]