Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can’t get an attorney [More]
Hey, an increase in crime plays right into their hands. Wake me when they drop charges against a peaceable gun owner for having an AR-15.
Oh, that’s right– we go broke paying for our own attorneys.
[Via Edmund M]
If you can’t afford your own attorney, you get a public defender.
The problem with that, is that your average public defender is overworked, has too many cases, and far too little experience defending innocent clients, honest self-defense cases, or clients being charged under unconstitutional laws. The natural assumption is that the new case on top of their pile is just as guilty as the rest, and deserves just as much consideration and effort.
Even if you’re innocent or the charges are clearly unconstitutional, you’ll face pressure from the State AND your own counsel to take a plea bargain. Public defenders have neither the time nor energy (and probably not the headspace) to challenge the status quo, so they won’t.