Public Defenders

Murder defendant’s claimed threats against his attorneys have left him lawyerless

Saying that he found himself in an “interesting and unique” situation, a Kentucky judge told a murder defendant on Monday that local attorneys aren’t willing to represent him because of his past threats to kill two defense lawyers. “I honestly don’t know where we are going to go from here,”…

Feb 12, 2013 4:26 PM CST

Resolutions address ‘national scandal’ of underfunded and overburdened public defenders

Public defenders who are dealing with excessive caseloads are getting some support from the ABA House of Delegates. Two resolutions approved on Monday deal with the issue. Resolution 104A urges Congress to create and fund an independent, federally funded Center for Indigent Defense Services to help governments carry out their…

Feb 11, 2013 5:20 PM CST

ABA House to consider resolutions reflecting the globalization of law practice

Law practice has become increasingly global in nature—a reality reflected in four proposed revisions to the ABA’s model ethics rules. The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates will consider the model rule changes on Monday along with proposals on human trafficking, super PAC disclosures, indigent defense and unbundled legal services. Three…

Feb 11, 2013 1:00 PM CST

Accused of extorting indigent clients to increase his fees, former public defender faces trial

A former public defender in Utah is set to go to trial in Panguitch this week on charges that he used his position to extort money and items of value from more than a half-dozen clients. Onetime Garfield County public defender John E. Hummel is accused of pressuring at least…

Jan 28, 2013 10:28 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Quitting law, by the numbers | The best word processor, word-count wise

Former lawyers confess Why do lawyers leave the law, and how do they feel about their choices? Adam Smith, Esq. and Above the Law teamed up late last year and polled 430 lawyers who had left practice—about half of them expats of Am Law 200 firms. The most common answer…

Jan 18, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Would Decriminalizing Minor Offenses Help Indigent Defense Crisis? ABA Committee Weighs In

The “perpetual crisis in indigent defense” could be lessened by moving minor infractions—including minor drug offenses—out of the criminal justice system, according to a new report by an ABA committee and a national group of criminal defense lawyers. The report concludes that the criminal justice system is flooded with petty…

Jan 8, 2013 2:00 PM CST

Fla. Judge Threatens to Jail Lawyers re Any Further Delay in Trial of Child-Murder Case

A frustrated Florida judge had a former assistant public defender appear before him Wednesday in jeans and a T-shirt after sending out an emergency request for an additional update on the status of a toddler-murder case that had been scheduled to go to trial Monday of next week. Unbeknownst to…

Jan 2, 2013 8:35 PM CST

W. Va. Lawyer Takes Plea in Federal Mail Fraud Case re $159K in Claimed False PD Billing Vouchers

A West Virginia private practitioner accused of defrauding the state’s public defender agency of $159,000 by billing for hours she did not work has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud. Lisa A. Weese, 43, remains free on bond pending sentencing after her Tuesday plea in U.S. District…

Nov 7, 2012 6:34 PM CST

Officials Say Murder Defendant Slashed His Lawyer’s Face; Court Attack Was 2nd in County in 1 Week

A defendant in a California murder trial won a mistrial but faces a new attempted murder case after allegedly slashing his lawyer’s face with a makeshift weapon as the jury entered a Tulare County courtroom around 10 a.m. on Monday. Sheriff’s officials said assistant public defender John Shepard was not…

Nov 6, 2012 7:53 PM CST

Testifying re Alleged Prosecutor Battery, Assistant Chicago PD Claims Self-Defense; Jury Acquits

Updated: An Illinois public defender who was criminally charged after an altercation with a prosecutor two years ago in a Chicago court hallway testified at his felony aggravated battery trial Wednesday that he acted in self-defense when he grabbed the other lawyer by the neck, threw him to the floor…

Nov 1, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

New Mexico Ballot Measure Would Create Independent PD’s Office

A ballot measure in New Mexico seeks to remove the governor’s authority to appoint the state’s chief public defender. The proposed constitutional amendment would create a commission to oversee the Public Defender’s office, report the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Las Cruces Sun-News. Currently the PD is part of…

Oct 10, 2012 1:39 PM CDT

Handcuffed Defendant Takes Plea, Decks Defense Counsel with a Single Punch, Gets 6 Months More Time

A handcuffed defendant suddenly took a swing at defense counsel in court after pleading guilty on Tuesday in a South Carolina criminal case, knocking the surprised attorney backward to the floor as a security camera caught the entire incident. Already sentenced to the 15-year maximum Tuesday as a result of…

Oct 4, 2012 6:26 PM CDT

Man Facing Execution Next Week Says Prosecutors Hid Mitigating Evidence at Sentencing

A Philadelphia man facing execution next week for a 1984 murder claims prosecutors hid evidence at his sentencing that he had been sexually abused by the man he was convicted of killing. Terrance Williams, 46, says the evidence, which was only turned over to the defense on Monday, corroborates his…

Sep 27, 2012 5:54 PM CDT

The Producers of ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Film Brooklyn Public Defenders at Work

A new documentary special by the producers of Dog the Bounty Hunter offers a behind-the-scenes look at the public defenders working for Brooklyn’s Legal Aid Society. The special, Criminal Defense: And Justice for All, was scheduled to air in two half-hour episodes beginning Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern Time on…

Sep 10, 2012 6:49 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer, Known for Indigent Defense, Indicted on Charges of Theft, Forging Judges’ Signatures

Corrected: Hilda Valadez, a Texas lawyer who reportedly earned $403,000 for her state court indigent defense work, was indicted Thursday for allegedly forging judges’ signatures and double-billing Bexar County for her services. A former assistant district attorney, Valadez handled 478 indigent defense cases over three years, the San Antonio Express-News…

Aug 24, 2012 7:48 PM CDT