MISSOURI NEWS THAT REFLECTS ALL OF AMERICA’S FAILURE TO HELP THE INDIGENT PROPERLY—e.g. example of JUSTICE SYSTEM
MISSOURI NEWS THAT REFLECTS ALL OF AMERICA’S FAILURE TO HELP THE INDIGENT PROPERLY—e.g. example of JUSTICE SYSTEM
By Kevin Stoda, currently in Branson, Missouri
This past Sunday the Springfield News-Ledger ran an important set of stories on Missouri’s failure to provide justice in a timely fashion to a large number of its residents and imprisoned peoples. The front page story on Sunday (February 6, 2011) in the News-Ledger was entitled “A System in Shackles” and the entire tale reminded me of the judicial system in Texas that had sent a friend of mine to jail some years ago.
The author of the Missouri article was by Kathryn Wall and was subtitled, “When public defenders stopped taking cases, Jared Blacksher became an unwitting poster boy for an overtaxed system.”
Blaksher’s eventual chance for release from and possible justice in Missouri—i.e. in a state where he has yet to be convicted of the charge he has been sitting for 9 months—will likely hinge on what the USA Supreme Court eventually says.
Missouri Public Defenders [1] have gone on strike this past year due to the fact they cannot handle the current caseload making it even harder for those charged with crimes to get a fair trial in Missouri. The same situation reigns in Texas and numerous other USA states.
Here is the rest of Kathryn Wall’s important article.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060349/A-system-shackles
Jared Blacksher is sitting in jail without a lawyer or much hope of getting out anytime soon.
Now in his seventh month waiting, Blacksher watches his case work its way through the Supreme Court.
It has reached that level not because of the accusations against him, or a claim of innocence. Attorneys in his case aren't fighting a conviction or an error in litigation. They're fighting a battle that will impact the criminal justice system across the state and that mirrors disputes elsewhere in the nation.
Statewide, lawyers working in the public defender system were assigned more than 81,000 cases in the 2010 fiscal year. They say they simply have too large a caseload for the 368 attorneys in the system to handle.
Though prosecutors disagree, public defenders fear they are jeopardizing their own clients. They say they cannot give them the time they deserve for fair representation.
As the two sides argue their positions, Blacksher is caught in the middle.
It's a debate he can do nothing to remedy.
"I've been having to sit in jail knowing nothing, pretty much," he said in an interview in the Christian County Jail.
Public defenders are appointed to represent clients who can't afford to pay for their own attorneys, a constitutional mandate they say has become more and more difficult to meet with growing caseloads and state budget woes.
Although others working in the criminal justice system dispute the way public defenders cite caseload numbers to claim they are overworked, those on both sides of the debate agree that a lack of proper representation for any client creates a breakdown of the criminal justice system.
That, they say, puts all of society at risk.
Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson used the analogy of a three-legged stool. For the criminal justice system to work, all three "legs" -- the courts, the prosecution and the defense -- have to be equally strong.
Rod Hackathorn, the district defender for the Springfield public defender office, echoed that sentiment: "The defense is just as important as all the other parts of the system if you really believe in our justice system."
Cyndy Short, a former Missouri public defender who now does work across the country for indigent clients, said "poor" takes on a new meaning for those accused of serious crimes. "The fact of the matter is, once you get into capital (punishment cases), no matter how much money (a client) has, he can't afford a capital defense," she said.
The problem
The state Supreme Court is working to resolve a long-held debate over how the Missouri Public Defender Commission operates.
The commission says public defenders are so overrun with cases, it had to do something. In the Springfield office, which serves Christian, Greene and Taney counties, 4,829 new cases were opened in fiscal 2010 alone.
With 20 attorneys splitting the workload, the Springfield office said it just couldn't handle any more; attorneys started periodically refusing new cases. The Springfield office was the first to close, but several others have followed suit.
Prosecutors argue they have similar, if not higher, workloads. In Greene County, prosecutors filed more than 11,000 cases in 2010, with about 4,000 more cases reviewed but not charged. Greene County had 23 attorneys during that time period.
Legislators acknowledge the entire criminal justice system needs more funding -- but more money in this year's budget cycle for anything seems unlikely, as Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed an overall budget cut of about $500 million.
Defendants and their families say they just want a solution.
Caught in the middle
During a recent interview with the News-Leader, Blacksher sat in a small holding cell while chained to a stool cemented to the floor. Blacksher has been in the jail long enough that he recognized another man being booked during the interview. He said the other inmate had been in the jail three times since Blacksher began his stay.
"One of the worst things is watching people come and go. Sometimes it's just pretty unbearable," he said.
While others move through the system at a normal pace, his case has stagnated.
Blacksher readily admits to the burglary and forgery charges that landed him in jail in the first place. He had plans, in fact, to plead guilty and begin a drug treatment program with the Missouri Department of Corrections.
"I had one court date left," he said.
That treatment plan would have taken 120 days; he would have been out by about Jan. 11. But before the case could move forward, the Supreme Court stepped in and ordered that the Christian County court stop any action on the case.
Prosecutors have now sent a letter to the Supreme Court to see if Blacksher can plead guilty on his own and move forward with the case. It was unclear last week when the judges would take up that motion.
Blacksher said he tries not to think about the time he spends waiting. Instead, he reads voraciously -- whatever he can get his hands on.
Although he thinks it's unfair, Blacksher said there's been a silver lining to his limbo. He went into jail as a recovering drug addict and said the extra time away from old surroundings has made his recovery more solid.
"It's changed a lot of my outlook on things," he said.
He insists no one should feel sorry for him and cites a strong belief in karma as the possible reason he was the unlucky person chosen as a test case.
In July, the Springfield defender office began closing to new clients. Shortly afterward, Blacksher turned himself in to authorities in Christian County. His timing proved awful.
"I should've done it either earlier or later," he said, shaking his head.
Blacksher's case was chosen as the one the Missouri Public Defender Commission would fight in court.
So while others accused of similar crimes have left to serve prison time or probation, Blacksher has been in the same cell watching the time go by, all on the county's dime -- $45 a day.
The problem of how to fund indigent defense is not a battle unique to Missouri. New York, Georgia, Connecticut and several other states have seen similar challenges.
The Supreme Court issued a writ of prohibition in Blacksher's case in September -- meaning Blacksher can't plead guilty, can't get a court date or be represented by anyone else.
As others come and go, as the days pass, as the legal jousting continues, he has no way out.
He just has to wait.
NOTES
[1] Bar Association's guidelines for public defenders
The American Bar Association has developed 10 principles for a good public defense system. In their latest annual report, officials with the Missouri State Public Defender Commission ranked themselves on how they're meeting those principles.
1. The public defense function, including the selection, funding and payment of defense counsel, is independent. (A).
2. When the caseload is sufficiently high, the public defense delivery system consists of both a defender office and the active participation of the private bar. (F).
3. Clients are screened for eligibility, and defense counsel is assigned and notified of appointment as soon as feasible after client's arrest, detention or request for counsel. (C-).
4. Defense counsel is provided sufficient time and a confidential space within which to meet with the client. (D).
5. Defense counsel's workload is controlled to permit the rendering of quality representation. (F).
6. Defense counsel's ability, training and experience match the complexity of the case. (C+).
7. The same attorney continuously represents the client until the completion of the case. (B).
8. There is parity between defense counsel and the prosecution with respect to resources, and defense counsel is included as an equal partner in the justice system. (MSPD filled in a question mark).
9. Defense counsel is provided with and required to attend continuing legal education. (A).
10. Defense counsel is supervised and systematically reviewed for quality and efficiency according to nationally and locally adopted standards. (C).
Cited studies
Several reports have sought to tackle the overwhelming problems facing public defenders in Missouri. While all indicate some sort of issue within the public defender system, none have agreed on a solution.
Some of the most-often referenced studies include:
- Assessment of the Missouri State Public Defender System by the Spangenberg Group
- Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System by the American Bar Association
- Public Defender Offices, 2007 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Missouri Senate Interim Committee report on the Missouri State Public Defender System
- Opinion of the Missouri Supreme Court in Pratte decision
Go to News-Leader.com to see each of these reports.
Determining indigency
The Missouri Public Defender's Commission uses the Federal Poverty Guidelines to determine whether a client is eligible for a public defender.
A person making $11,000 a year would not qualify for a public defender under the current strict guidelines, but other items are factored in.
For instance, whether that person is a student, receives child support, has car or credit card payments and loans also is factored into the indigency determination.
[2] Here are other related articles from the Springfield News-Ledger from Sunday:
• Workload, pay have long been problematic in Missouri public defender system
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060348
• Stopgap measure rejected by Nixon
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060346
• Clarity on high caseloads sought in court
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060338
• Defenders 'throwing in the towel'?
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060337
By Kevin Stoda, currently in Branson, Missouri
This past Sunday the Springfield News-Ledger ran an important set of stories on Missouri’s failure to provide justice in a timely fashion to a large number of its residents and imprisoned peoples. The front page story on Sunday (February 6, 2011) in the News-Ledger was entitled “A System in Shackles” and the entire tale reminded me of the judicial system in Texas that had sent a friend of mine to jail some years ago.
The author of the Missouri article was by Kathryn Wall and was subtitled, “When public defenders stopped taking cases, Jared Blacksher became an unwitting poster boy for an overtaxed system.”
Blaksher’s eventual chance for release from and possible justice in Missouri—i.e. in a state where he has yet to be convicted of the charge he has been sitting for 9 months—will likely hinge on what the USA Supreme Court eventually says.
Missouri Public Defenders [1] have gone on strike this past year due to the fact they cannot handle the current caseload making it even harder for those charged with crimes to get a fair trial in Missouri. The same situation reigns in Texas and numerous other USA states.
Here is the rest of Kathryn Wall’s important article.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060349/A-system-shackles
Jared Blacksher is sitting in jail without a lawyer or much hope of getting out anytime soon.
Now in his seventh month waiting, Blacksher watches his case work its way through the Supreme Court.
It has reached that level not because of the accusations against him, or a claim of innocence. Attorneys in his case aren't fighting a conviction or an error in litigation. They're fighting a battle that will impact the criminal justice system across the state and that mirrors disputes elsewhere in the nation.
Statewide, lawyers working in the public defender system were assigned more than 81,000 cases in the 2010 fiscal year. They say they simply have too large a caseload for the 368 attorneys in the system to handle.
Though prosecutors disagree, public defenders fear they are jeopardizing their own clients. They say they cannot give them the time they deserve for fair representation.
As the two sides argue their positions, Blacksher is caught in the middle.
It's a debate he can do nothing to remedy.
"I've been having to sit in jail knowing nothing, pretty much," he said in an interview in the Christian County Jail.
Public defenders are appointed to represent clients who can't afford to pay for their own attorneys, a constitutional mandate they say has become more and more difficult to meet with growing caseloads and state budget woes.
Although others working in the criminal justice system dispute the way public defenders cite caseload numbers to claim they are overworked, those on both sides of the debate agree that a lack of proper representation for any client creates a breakdown of the criminal justice system.
That, they say, puts all of society at risk.
Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson used the analogy of a three-legged stool. For the criminal justice system to work, all three "legs" -- the courts, the prosecution and the defense -- have to be equally strong.
Rod Hackathorn, the district defender for the Springfield public defender office, echoed that sentiment: "The defense is just as important as all the other parts of the system if you really believe in our justice system."
Cyndy Short, a former Missouri public defender who now does work across the country for indigent clients, said "poor" takes on a new meaning for those accused of serious crimes. "The fact of the matter is, once you get into capital (punishment cases), no matter how much money (a client) has, he can't afford a capital defense," she said.
The problem
The state Supreme Court is working to resolve a long-held debate over how the Missouri Public Defender Commission operates.
The commission says public defenders are so overrun with cases, it had to do something. In the Springfield office, which serves Christian, Greene and Taney counties, 4,829 new cases were opened in fiscal 2010 alone.
With 20 attorneys splitting the workload, the Springfield office said it just couldn't handle any more; attorneys started periodically refusing new cases. The Springfield office was the first to close, but several others have followed suit.
Prosecutors argue they have similar, if not higher, workloads. In Greene County, prosecutors filed more than 11,000 cases in 2010, with about 4,000 more cases reviewed but not charged. Greene County had 23 attorneys during that time period.
Legislators acknowledge the entire criminal justice system needs more funding -- but more money in this year's budget cycle for anything seems unlikely, as Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed an overall budget cut of about $500 million.
Defendants and their families say they just want a solution.
Caught in the middle
During a recent interview with the News-Leader, Blacksher sat in a small holding cell while chained to a stool cemented to the floor. Blacksher has been in the jail long enough that he recognized another man being booked during the interview. He said the other inmate had been in the jail three times since Blacksher began his stay.
"One of the worst things is watching people come and go. Sometimes it's just pretty unbearable," he said.
While others move through the system at a normal pace, his case has stagnated.
Blacksher readily admits to the burglary and forgery charges that landed him in jail in the first place. He had plans, in fact, to plead guilty and begin a drug treatment program with the Missouri Department of Corrections.
"I had one court date left," he said.
That treatment plan would have taken 120 days; he would have been out by about Jan. 11. But before the case could move forward, the Supreme Court stepped in and ordered that the Christian County court stop any action on the case.
Prosecutors have now sent a letter to the Supreme Court to see if Blacksher can plead guilty on his own and move forward with the case. It was unclear last week when the judges would take up that motion.
Blacksher said he tries not to think about the time he spends waiting. Instead, he reads voraciously -- whatever he can get his hands on.
Although he thinks it's unfair, Blacksher said there's been a silver lining to his limbo. He went into jail as a recovering drug addict and said the extra time away from old surroundings has made his recovery more solid.
"It's changed a lot of my outlook on things," he said.
He insists no one should feel sorry for him and cites a strong belief in karma as the possible reason he was the unlucky person chosen as a test case.
In July, the Springfield defender office began closing to new clients. Shortly afterward, Blacksher turned himself in to authorities in Christian County. His timing proved awful.
"I should've done it either earlier or later," he said, shaking his head.
Blacksher's case was chosen as the one the Missouri Public Defender Commission would fight in court.
So while others accused of similar crimes have left to serve prison time or probation, Blacksher has been in the same cell watching the time go by, all on the county's dime -- $45 a day.
The problem of how to fund indigent defense is not a battle unique to Missouri. New York, Georgia, Connecticut and several other states have seen similar challenges.
The Supreme Court issued a writ of prohibition in Blacksher's case in September -- meaning Blacksher can't plead guilty, can't get a court date or be represented by anyone else.
As others come and go, as the days pass, as the legal jousting continues, he has no way out.
He just has to wait.
NOTES
[1] Bar Association's guidelines for public defenders
The American Bar Association has developed 10 principles for a good public defense system. In their latest annual report, officials with the Missouri State Public Defender Commission ranked themselves on how they're meeting those principles.
1. The public defense function, including the selection, funding and payment of defense counsel, is independent. (A).
2. When the caseload is sufficiently high, the public defense delivery system consists of both a defender office and the active participation of the private bar. (F).
3. Clients are screened for eligibility, and defense counsel is assigned and notified of appointment as soon as feasible after client's arrest, detention or request for counsel. (C-).
4. Defense counsel is provided sufficient time and a confidential space within which to meet with the client. (D).
5. Defense counsel's workload is controlled to permit the rendering of quality representation. (F).
6. Defense counsel's ability, training and experience match the complexity of the case. (C+).
7. The same attorney continuously represents the client until the completion of the case. (B).
8. There is parity between defense counsel and the prosecution with respect to resources, and defense counsel is included as an equal partner in the justice system. (MSPD filled in a question mark).
9. Defense counsel is provided with and required to attend continuing legal education. (A).
10. Defense counsel is supervised and systematically reviewed for quality and efficiency according to nationally and locally adopted standards. (C).
Cited studies
Several reports have sought to tackle the overwhelming problems facing public defenders in Missouri. While all indicate some sort of issue within the public defender system, none have agreed on a solution.
Some of the most-often referenced studies include:
- Assessment of the Missouri State Public Defender System by the Spangenberg Group
- Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System by the American Bar Association
- Public Defender Offices, 2007 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Missouri Senate Interim Committee report on the Missouri State Public Defender System
- Opinion of the Missouri Supreme Court in Pratte decision
Go to News-Leader.com to see each of these reports.
Determining indigency
The Missouri Public Defender's Commission uses the Federal Poverty Guidelines to determine whether a client is eligible for a public defender.
A person making $11,000 a year would not qualify for a public defender under the current strict guidelines, but other items are factored in.
For instance, whether that person is a student, receives child support, has car or credit card payments and loans also is factored into the indigency determination.
[2] Here are other related articles from the Springfield News-Ledger from Sunday:
• Workload, pay have long been problematic in Missouri public defender system
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060348
• Stopgap measure rejected by Nixon
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060346
• Clarity on high caseloads sought in court
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060338
• Defenders 'throwing in the towel'?
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060337
posted by Kevin Anthony Stoda at 2:11 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home