NCJ Number
122636
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 80 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 673-725
Date Published
1989
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This article examines how the lack of adequate resources hampers attorneys assigned by the State to defend indigents and deprives indigents of their constitutional rights to effective assistance of counsel and a fair trial.
Abstract
Studies point out that many public defenders carry case loads so large that they are unable to render effective representation to their clients. Heavy caseloads result from the chronic underfunding of criminal defense agencies. Case law establishing the link between effective representation of counsel and the defendant's right to a fair trial is discussed. However, the Supreme Court has not distinguished between ineffective assistance of counsel based on inadequate funding of the public defender system and ineffective assistance based on individual attorney negligence or incompetence. When the State-supported system makes it impossible for the defense attorney to render effective counsel to an indigent client, the State must bear responsibility for the resulting miscarriages of justice. 252 footnotes.