Reference no: EM133855390

Question

Indigent defendants represent themselves with far fewer legal tools and resources than those of privately retained attorneys. Court-appointed lawyers, like their private-academic counterparts, are often overwhelmed with cases, which impedes the amount of time they could devote to each defendant. The lack of attention given to these areas can have adverse effects on representation quality, leading to worse outcomes for indigent defendants (Henderson & Shteynberg, 2022). Privately retained attorneys, on the other hand, usually have fewer cases, which enables them to give more personal, individualized, and thorough legal representation.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken many great steps to make sure that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is upheld. Important holdings, such as Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) which mandates appointed counsel for defendants keep coming down, but it is no easy task to keep such a right aligned with the framers' insight. Public defense systems continue to be plagued by systemic issues, including lack of funding and high workloads, despite efforts.

Ineffective assistance of counsel is defined as instances in which a defendant's attorney's performance is deficient, and the deficiency causes prejudice that impairs the outcome of the trial (Strickland v. Washington, 1984). This can include failing to pursue relevant evidence, poor legal advice, or mistakes that prejudice the defendant's case.

- Would you be willing to pay additional county taxes in order to hire additional public defenders, thus reducing their caseloads?

- You are welcome to share a summary of a case where an accused person was found to have ineffective counsel and given a retrial.

- If you were to become a criminal lawyer would you prefer to work as a prosecutor or defense attorney? Explain your reasoning.