Courthouse News Service

Probably the best news site in the world

Courthouse News Service

  • Subscribers
  • Back Issues
  • Search
  • Columns
  • Law Pubs
    • Entertainment Law Digest

public defenders

Civil Rights Government Regional Trials 

Judge Finds Missouri Public Defender Waiting List Unconstitutional

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 JOE HARRIS
funding, Missouri, public defenders

The judge stayed the case to give Missouri lawmakers time to approve more funding in hopes of eliminating the waiting list.

Read more
Employment Government Politics 

Public Defenders

February 5, 2021February 8, 2021 BRIEF
Florida, public defenders, retaliation

A federal court in Florida denied retiring Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein’s request to dismiss a suit brought by Ruby Green, a former assistant public defender, who says she was wrongfully fired over statements she made while campaigning to replace him.

Read more
Civil Rights Regional Trials 

Closing Arguments Delivered in Trial Over Missouri Public Defender Wait List

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 JOE HARRIS
aclu, Attorneys, Class Action, Missouri, public defenders

Missouri’s efforts to reduce the time poor criminal defendants must wait for a public defender are commendable but they don’t make the state’s waiting list constitutional, an ACLU attorney said Wednesday during closing arguments of a two-day bench trial.

Read more
Civil Rights Trials 

Bench Trial Over Missouri Public Defender Waiting Lists Kicks Off

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 JOE HARRIS
Missouri, public defenders

Missouri’s practice of placing poor criminal defendants on a wait list for a public defender was the best option among bad choices in balancing right to counsel with overwhelming caseloads, the former director of the state’s public defender office testified Tuesday in a trial challenging the system.

Read more
Appeals Government Law 

Overworked Public Defenders

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 BRIEF
Missouri, public defenders

A Missouri appeals court reversed the denial of a public defender’s office request for relief from excessive caseloads. While courts cannot review whether the public defender’s office has exceeded a caseload standard, it may consider whether individual public defender attorneys are unable to provide effective assistance of counsel due to caseload issues.

Read more
Civil Rights Government Regional 

Judge Grants Class Status in Missouri Public Defender Case

July 15, 2020July 16, 2020 JOE HARRIS
certification, Class Action, Missouri, poverty, public defenders

A Missouri judge has granted class certification to a group of indigent criminal defendants challenging the state’s practice of putting them on a waiting list for a public defender.

Read more
Civil Rights Government Regional 

Class Status Sought in Missouri Suit Over Public Defender Wait List

June 26, 2020June 26, 2020 JOE HARRIS
Class Action, Missouri, poverty, public defenders

A lawyer for a group of indigent defendants challenging Missouri’s practice of putting them on a waiting list for a public defender urged a state judge Friday morning to let them sue as a class.

Read more
Courts Employment 

Sue the Courts

March 4, 2020March 5, 2020 BRIEF
Attorneys, conspiracy, Fourth Circuit, public defenders, retaliation, Sexual harassment

A former assistant public defender sued the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, et al., in federal court, claiming they conspired to violate her civil rights after she truthfully complained of sexual harassment, but “punished” and “intimidated” her for reporting it.

Read more
Appeals Civil Rights Government Law 

Mediation Likely for Suit Over Counsel Interference at Brooklyn Jail

February 11, 2020 AMANDA OTTAWAY
Attorneys, inmates, public defenders, Second Circuit

A year after an electrical fire cut off power and forced a Brooklyn detention center into lockdown, the Second Circuit appeared inclined Tuesday to let the parties mediate a suit over access to public defenders.

Read more
Courts Politics Regional 

Judge Rejects Beef Over Ballot Wording in LA County DA Race

December 24, 2019December 26, 2019 NATHAN SOLIS
2020 elections, Attorneys, Los Angeles County, public defenders

A candidate for Los Angeles District Attorney’s office will be allowed to list her occupation as a federal public defender on the upcoming 2020 primary ballot, after an LA judge rejected a challenge Tuesday from a voter who claims the candidate no longer works in that office.

Read more
Civil Rights Courts Employment Trials 

Public Defender

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019 BRIEF
discrimination, jury, Latinos, Maricopa County, public defenders

A former deputy public defender claims in superior court that his supervisor at the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Public Defender’s Office, et al., fired him after he objected to underrepresentation of Latinos in county jury pools.

Read more
Courts Employment National 

Oregon Public Defenders Walk Out to Seek Resources

June 14, 2019June 14, 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oregon, public defenders, strike

Facing ever-mounting caseloads, dozens of public defenders in Oregon walked out of courthouses and into the Statehouse this week to lobby for a bill that would fix a staffing shortage and an outdated contract payment system that has some attorneys representing more than 200 clients at once.

Read more
Government Law 

Kamala Harris Seeks $250 Million to Help Public Defenders

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Congress, criminal justice, federal grants, Kamala Harris, public defenders, reforms

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California is introducing legislation, including a $250 million grant program, to ease the burden on public defenders around the country.

Read more
Criminal Law 

Accused Mass Shooter’s Inheritance Spurs Public Defender Withdrawal

April 25, 2019April 25, 2019 IZZY KAPNICK
Florida, Mass Shooting, public defenders, schools

Public defenders for the man accused of murdering 17 people at his former high school in Florida asked a judge to let them withdraw from his case, saying his $432,000 inheritance disqualifies him from receiving the free legal counsel.

Read more
Civil Rights 

13-Year Detention

April 24, 2019April 25, 2019 BRIEF
Attorneys, mental health, public defenders

A federal judge has given a man who was civilly confined in a state hospital for 13 years another chance at claims his public defenders mishandled his case so badly it amounts to deliberate indifference.

Read more
Civil Rights Courts Government 

Missouri Justices Asked to Handle Strained Public Defender System

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 MATT REYNOLDS
Attorneys, Missouri, public defenders

St. Louis County public defenders who say they have too many cases to guarantee criminal defendants’ rights to effective counsel should have their claims heard by Missouri’s highest court, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Read more
Courts Government Regional 

Michigan County Sues Over New Public Defender Rules

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 EMILY ZANTOW
Michigan, public defenders, regulation

Oakland County sued the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission over new state standards that will require counties to provide additional public defender services, arguing it will be too costly.

Read more
Appeals Courts Regional 

Fifth Circuit Hears Challenge to Public-Defender Wait List

August 7, 2018August 7, 2018 DANIEL JACKSON
Fifth Circuit, funding, Louisiana, public defenders

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and public defenders seemed to agree before the Fifth Circuit on Monday that a waiting list for representation in Louisiana violates poor defendants’ rights to a speedy trial and assistance of counsel.

Read more
Civil Rights Criminal 

Report Calls LA County Public Defenders Ill-Equipped for Noncitizen Clients  

May 16, 2018May 22, 2018 MARTIN MACIAS JR
Attorneys, California, immigration, Los Angeles, public defenders, Research

The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office lacks expert support in handling cases involving noncitizens, increasing their danger of deportation and other immigration-related consequences, a report released Wednesday says.

Read more
Courts Criminal Government 

Public Defender Ramps Up Fight Against Albuquerque Judges

September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 VICTORIA PRIESKOP
Albuquerque, detainees, judges, New Mexico, public defenders

New Mexico’s Chief Public Defender has filed a class action against the judges of Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, which covers Albuquerque, for failing to release felony detainees who wait more than 10 days before being seen by a judge.

Read more
  • ← Previous
Copyright © 2021 Courthouse News Service. All rights reserved.
Theme: ColorMag by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.
Return To Top
  • Columns
  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Masthead
Copyright © 2021 courthousenews.com