Public Defenders

Even the DA Is Worried About a Plan to Close a Georgia PD Office

A plan to save money by eliminating an office of public defenders handling some Atlanta cases has raised the ire of the chief judge and prompted concerns by the local district attorney. The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council plans to shut down a public defender office that handles cases posing…

Jun 10, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Defendant Who Attacked PD Gave Up Right to a Lawyer, Court Says

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has affirmed a judge’s refusal to appoint a new lawyer for a defendant who attacked his public defender in court. The appeals court said William Lehman forfeited his right to a court-appointed lawyer when he attacked public defender Mark Groettum in the courtroom, the St.…

May 14, 2008 11:14 AM CDT

Lingering Questions Surround Death Penalty Representation

An ACLU lawyer tells the New York Times that the problem with the death penalty is not the method of execution, but rather “poor people getting lousy lawyers.” The ACLU Capital Punishment Project represented North Carolina inmate Levon Jones, the third death row inmate in the state to win his…

May 7, 2008 2:49 PM CDT

37 Yrs Later, Oregon PD Leaving 2-Yr Post

When James Hennings first agreed to help start one of the country’s first not-for-profit law firms to serve defendants who couldn’t afford attorneys, he thought he’d do his part for a couple years, then move on. Only after 37 years is he ready to call it quits, the Oregonian reports.…

Apr 21, 2008 2:55 PM CDT

I’ll Be a Potted Plant, Gitmo Defense Lawyer Fears

As efforts to conduct military trials of terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison inch forward, some suspects and their counsel are not optimistic about the process. One Saudi defendant today politely informed a military judge that his planned war crimes trial is a sham in which he…

Apr 9, 2008 10:01 PM CDT

Pro Se Murder Defendant Wins Case

A high school dropout accused of killing a sleeping man represented himself at trial and won the case. Harold Stewart was accused of beating the victim to death with a baseball bat. Stewart called no witnesses, yet Maryland jurors acquitted him last month after deliberating less than an hour, the…

Mar 17, 2008 11:30 AM CDT

Renowned Criminal Defense Lawyer Gary Proctor Commits Suicide

Updated: One of the high points of Gary Proctor’s life was represented by the quote he kept on his office wall from Harry Reasoner of 60 Minutes. It tagged Proctor the best criminal defense lawyer in Orange County, Calif.—as Reasoner also informed millions of viewers of the television news magazine’s…

Mar 10, 2008 11:59 PM CDT

Client Who Decked Counsel Sentenced to 6 Months

A disgruntled client who decked his appointed defense counsel last month got the new lawyer he was seeking … and more. Although public defender Doug Crickmer said at the time that he forgave Peter Hafer, the Kentucky judicial system apparently wasn’t ready to turn the other cheek. Hafer—whose punch to…

Mar 4, 2008 12:58 AM CST

Murder Defendant Sues Ga. Judge Over Change of Counsel

A defendant in a capital murder case who was represented for more than a year by private lawyers paid for by the state of Georgia has sued his trial judge for replacing the private attorneys with public defenders. Meanwhile, the salaried public defenders selected by Pike County Superior Court Judge…

Feb 11, 2008 8:56 PM CST

Banned Lawyer Gets Reprieve re Alleged Affair With Judge

The ban has been lifted against a Washington state lawyer ordered not to appear on behalf of indigent defendants at his local courthouse, after a judge reportedly blabbed about their alleged affair at a holiday party. Michael Morgan, the presiding judge, ended the ban this week, apparently in response to…

Feb 7, 2008 6:30 PM CST

Client Decks Counsel, Gets New Lawyer

An unhappy client punched his legal counsel in a Kentucky courtroom Monday, saying that he wanted new representation. And Scott Hafer got his wish after punching public defender Doug Crickmer in the jaw and sending him to the floor in an incident that was recorded by a courtroom camera in…

Feb 6, 2008 4:54 PM CST

Inmate’s Freedom Hinges on Lawyers’ Revelation That Dead Client Killed Guard in ‘82

Almost 26 years ago, as two Chicago public defenders were representing a client accused of murdering two police officers, their case suddenly got a lot tougher. A lawyer defending another man accused of murdering a security guard in an unrelated case told the two PDs that his client said that…

Jan 22, 2008 6:32 PM CST

Anti-Lethal Injection Lawyers Struggle on Way to and in High Court

A public defender who helped prepare the case against lethal injections argued yesterday took “a humble road” to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the headline in the Kentucky Herald-Leader. Public defender David Barron, who contends the state’s three-drug death cocktail is cruel and unusual punishment, “drove to Washington in…

Jan 8, 2008 11:39 AM CST

Assistant DA: No Cap on Protection Order Violations

A Minnesota public defender has asked a court to curb what she deemed an abuse of power by prosecutors who charged her client with 49 counts of violating an order of protection for allegedly calling his girlfriend from jail. Public defender Carol Weissenborn said the number of charges exaggerated and…

Jan 7, 2008 6:15 PM CST

New Defense Warning: Don’t Brush?

Don’t talk to police. Don’t talk to your cellmate. And, whatever you do, don’t brush your teeth. This could soon be standard advice from criminal defense lawyers to clients, if a recent Illinois evidentiary ruling is any indication. An accused rapist who refused to give a DNA sample has nonetheless…

Dec 18, 2007 5:26 PM CST