To: The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom
Limit Caseloads for Public Defenders
Our public defender system is broken - we demand the CA legislature limit Public Defender caseloads to no more than 100 cases per year.
Why is this important?
Exactly two weeks after the sudden death of our father, my brother made a terrible mistake. He entered an empty house, took a shower, ate their food, put on clean cloths, and moved some furniture around. You see, my brother has suffered from drug addiction through out his adolescence and young adult life and the grief of losing his father took this affliction to a new low. Homeless, hungry and high, his brain imagined a person had asked for his help moving. Life is not a fairy tale and he is not as cute as goldilocks. For this mistake he is facing 8 years in state prison. I was told by the district attorney that with a good lawyer, he could receive felony probation and rehabilitation but with the Public Defender his fate was all but sealed. Two months in jail has sobered him out and he wants nothing more than a second chance. However, our system only affords second chances to those who can pay for them.
Public Defenders are assigned upwards of 500 felonies and 600 misdemeanors each year whereas a busy privately paid attorney generally limits his or her caseload to between 50-100. It is impossible to give each case the attention and care it requires to provide competent representation doing 10 times the work of a private attorney. The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution clearly guarantees every defendant has the right to counsel in criminal proceedings, Gideon v. Wainwright established the Public Defender Office as a fundamental right necessary to a fair trial. Through under funding we have a separate and unequal system of representation. Innocent people are being sent to prison and poor people are getting longer sentences than more affluent people committing similar crimes. Sign here to demand the legislature adequately fund the Public Defenders Office!
Public Defenders are assigned upwards of 500 felonies and 600 misdemeanors each year whereas a busy privately paid attorney generally limits his or her caseload to between 50-100. It is impossible to give each case the attention and care it requires to provide competent representation doing 10 times the work of a private attorney. The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution clearly guarantees every defendant has the right to counsel in criminal proceedings, Gideon v. Wainwright established the Public Defender Office as a fundamental right necessary to a fair trial. Through under funding we have a separate and unequal system of representation. Innocent people are being sent to prison and poor people are getting longer sentences than more affluent people committing similar crimes. Sign here to demand the legislature adequately fund the Public Defenders Office!