Public Defenders

Overworked PD’s Office Is Asking Judge to Take 45 Cases Off Their Docket

Public defenders throughout Minnesota are struggling with hefty caseloads, slowing down the justice system and potentially failing their clients because they are stretched too thin. But the situation is particularly bad in the 3rd Judicial District, where Chief Public Defender Karen Duncan today plans to ask a Steele County judge…

Aug 17, 2010 6:18 PM CDT

Ill. to Pay Only 40% of its Share of Salaries for State’s Attorneys, Public Defenders

As Illinois struggles to pay its bills, counties there will only receive 40 percent of state monies allotted for state’s attorneys, public defenders, and assessors. The state funds come from fines and fees collected from various county offices. The Illinois Department of Revenue notified counties in July that state payments…

Aug 9, 2010 6:49 PM CDT

Overloaded with Work, a Public Defender in Missouri Closes Office Doors to New Clients

Faced with too many cases for its attorneys to handle properly, a Missiouri public defender’s office has imposed a moratorium on new representations. It has stopped taking any new cases, although it anticipates opening its doors again at the beginning of August, reports Missourinet. Once a maximum caseload is reached,…

Jul 23, 2010 6:40 PM CDT

Group Reviewing Indigent Defense in Nevada Stalls over Definition of Criminal Case

A Nevada commission charged with reviewing the state’s defense system for poor defendants is bogged down in a dispute over the definition of criminal cases. Public defenders and prosecutors differ on how they count cases, and the split has stalled the Indigent Defense Commission, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. The story…

Jul 13, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Houston Requires Prosecutors’ OK Before Police May Speak to Defense Lawyers

A new Houston police policy bars officers from speaking with defense lawyers unless they get “express permission” from prosecutors. The critics include defense lawyer Murray Newman, the Houston Chronicle reports. He told the newspaper that the policy “is absolutely destroying any last vestiges that a police officer is a neutral…

Jul 8, 2010 12:29 PM CDT

Crash Kills One Senior Veteran Prosecutor, Injures Assistant Prosecutor

A 25-year veteran of the Wicomico County, Md., prosecutor’s office was killed Friday and another attorney in the office was injured when a driver reportedly pulled out in front of them on a state road. Members of the legal community expressed shock at the sudden death of Sampson Vincent, 52.…

Jun 28, 2010 10:24 PM CDT

Criminal Defense Lawyer Is a Juror in a California Murder Case

Tony Tamburello is no stranger to murder trials. But the seasoned California criminal defense attorney is about to see one from a new perspective after being selected as a juror in a San Francisco murder case, reports the Crime Scene blog of the San Francisco Chronicle. The unusual situation prompted…

Jun 25, 2010 9:50 AM CDT

Executed Inmate’s PD—Later Accused of Bungling the Trial—Recalls ‘Thankless Job’

The trial lawyer for the Utah inmate executed last week by firing squad says he’s not bitter, even though appeals had asserted he bungled the defense. Lawyer Andrew Valdez and his brother, James Valdez, had tried to present mitigating evidence on behalf of Ronnie Lee Gardner, convicted of killing a…

Jun 24, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Fla. Sheriff Says Inmates Are Happy About Recorded Phone Calls with Lawyers

A Florida sheriff says he will start taping inmates’ phone calls with their lawyers and will use the evidence against them in court. Sheriff Grady Judd of Bartow says the inmates like the idea—because it will force their lawyers to meet with them in person, 10Connects.com reports. “We talked to…

Jun 23, 2010 2:50 PM CDT

Public Defender Choked Prosecutor in Court Hallway, Police Say

An Illinois prosecutor was hospitalized today after an assistant public defender allegedly choked him in a court hallway in Chicago following a courtroom dispute over setting a hearing date in a post-conviction murder case. Police said Henry Hams, 47, put a 50-year-old Cook County prosecutor into a “choking headlock” this…

Jun 3, 2010 7:55 PM CDT

Assets and Debts Now a Factor in Public Defender Eligibility in Md.

The Maryland Court of Appeals decided last month that it isn’t enough just to consider criminal defendants’ income in deciding whether they’re eligible to be represented by a public defender. A person’s available assets and debts at the time of their arrest must also be considered, Maryland Public Defender Paul…

Jun 1, 2010 5:34 PM CDT

Cert Petition Challenges ‘Breakdown’ of PD System, Says Defendant Tossed to Lions

A Georgia death-row inmate whose appointed capital defense lawyers were tossed off the case due to funding problems cites a “systemic breakdown of the public defender system” in a petition for certiorari. The petition filed on behalf of Jamie Weis, accused of killing an elderly neighbor, asks the U.S. Supreme…

May 25, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Judge Reportedly Closes Juror Contempt Hearing to Public & Gov’t. Lawyer

A planned contempt hearing today for an unidentified juror accused of violating the judge’s instructions by watching a YouTube video about a reckless homicide case apparently went forward as scheduled. But both the public and a government lawyer in the reckless homicide case weren’t permitted to attend, reports the Louisville…

May 10, 2010 6:04 PM CDT

Lawyer Hits PD on Bike, Gets 9 Years in Drunken-Driving Case

A corporate lawyer in Colorado who drove his sport-utility vehicle into a bicycling Jefferson County deputy public defender last summer has been sentenced to nine years after pleading guilty to vehicular assault while driving drunk. Jeffrey Scott Detlefs, 57, could have his jail sentence reviewed after he serves at least…

Apr 13, 2010 11:38 PM CDT

DOJ Places Gag Order on ‘Largely Invisible’ Laurence Tribe

Noted Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe is facing some constraints in his new, specially created job in the Obama administration as “senior counselor for access to justice.” Tribe has a small budget and a limited staff, and he is not allowed to speak to the press, the New York…

Apr 8, 2010 2:29 PM CDT