25 signatures reached
To: Federal & State Legislators
Stay Woke: Properly Fund Our Public Defender's Offices
Provide proportionate funding to public defender's offices. The prosecutor's office is responsible for 100% of criminal cases and is funded accordingly. Public defender's offices should be given funds for AT LEAST the percentage of the criminal cases that they defend. ie. If the public defender defends 98% of criminal cases in their district, they should at least 98% of the funds that the prosecutors office is provided.
We demand at least a proportionate budget because in addition to the prosecutor's budget, they also have the police acting as investigators, a benefit that the public defender's do not have. This gives the prosecutor's the upper hand and puts the defendant at a disadvantage.
Why is this important?
The 6th amendment of our Constitution guarantees everyone a right to counsel. However, most public defender’s offices are dramatically underfunded and their attorney’s overworked. Some attorneys have 19,000 cases in a single year allowing for an average of 7 minutes per client. These limitations give a great advantage to prosecutors who often overcharge defendant's in order to coerce them into taking a plea instead of going to trial. Some judges even punish individuals who choose to exercise their right to a trial with steeper sentences.