NCJ Number
84147
Date Published
1981
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Although courts and public defender agencies are affected by economic decline in the communities they serve, the mandates of right to counsel and speedy trial give financial priority to these activities.
Abstract
Economic decline means a loss of resources and an inability to attract more resources for courts and public defenders. The curtailing of resources for the courts is already involving cutbacks in judicial education and salaries, and the lower courts are likely to be pressured to raise more revenue through traffic fines. Further, a lid is likely to be placed on witness and juror fees, and new programs for restitution for victims and witnesses, jury management, and alternative programs for minor offenses will have to struggle for survival. Pretrial liberty may be jeopardized if release on recognizance, bail, or pretrial release programs are cut. A declining economy yields more property crimes committed by persons who require the services of the public defender. A lack of increase in resources to deal with this increase in cases will mean mass processing and a consequent decline in the quality of legal representation. In the past 20 years, however, there has been a shift toward an increase in the political power of courts and defender agencies, as expenditures by States and cities have become governed by the Federal demand for counsel and speedy trial as well as by State constitutional, legislative, and judicial standards that mandate certain court and public defender services. These mandates give the courts and public defender agencies an edge in the competitive struggle for scarce public resources. Tabular data are provided on State and local expenditures for criminal justice for fiscal 1971 and 1978, as well as expenditures for public defense in Southern States for fiscal 1971-78. Twelve notes are listed.