[Vision2020] Great News !!!!

[Betsy Dickow]

Wonderful news, Rose, and as always too, great post, Saundra.  

Since Bob retired in January, we've been in and out of town constantly.  Finally home for a stretch and would love to get together with you.  I have alot of catching up to do!

Much love,

Betsy

Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 17, 2015, at 12:31 PM, Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm> wrote:
> 
> Hi Rose,
>  
> Any idea how long the lawsuit will take?  This is long overdue, but given the State’s history of dragging its feet even when it agrees to settle & change (see my post from Monday about the thirty-five years and counting saga re: mental  health care for kids in state care/custody), it’s challenging for me to muster much optimism that the lawsuit will result in meaningful change in my lifetime.
> The 2010 study also cited sky-high caseloads and workloads for public defenders; lack of communication with their clients; inadequate or nonexistent case investigation; inadequate safeguards to protect the independence of public defenders, who in places serve at the will of county commissioners; poor representation of children in juvenile and criminal court; and lack of meaningful state funding, sufficient supervision, performance standards, training and professional development.
> The suit acknowledges Idaho’s “long history of recognizing right to counsel” for indigent defendants. Idaho had a system in place before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1963 ruling in Gideon vs. Wainwright. Idaho’s attorney general at the time signed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiff, but Idaho “has taken several steps backward in the half-century since Gideon,” the suit alleges.
> It seeks a ruling that the state is obligated to provide “constitutionally adequate” representation to indigent criminal defendants from their initial court appearance onward, as well as a finding that the constitutional rights of Idaho’s indigent criminal defendants “are being violated by the State on an ongoing basis.”
> Besides requesting a deadline for corrective action, it asks for a statewide system of public defense to replace the existing county-by-county framework; state enforcement of uniform workload, performance, and training standards for public defenders and a ban on fixed-fee contracts for indigent- defense services.
> I certainly hope I’m wrong and that the ACLU’s suit progresses quickly – the excerpt above shows how dire the situation is – and has been – is spite of Idaho’s “long history of recognizing right to counsel for indigent defendants.”  It’s easy to pay lip service to Constitutional protections for those involved in the criminal justice system – let’s see what Idaho will do not that push has at long last come to shove.
>  
> I’ll be keeping my eye on this and hoping for a better outcome than, oh, say, Otter’s CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) & IEN (Idaho Education Network) scandals.
>  
>  
> Saundra Lund
>  
> No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
> ~ Aesop (The Lion and the Mouse)
>  
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Rosemary Huskey
> Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 11:33 AM
> To: 'Moscow Vision 2020'
> Subject: [Vision2020] Great News !!!!
>  
> http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/06/17/3855823_aclu-sues-idaho-for-lack-of-action.html?rh=1
>  
> I know attorneys who have waited years for this to happen and FINALLY progress will be made.  Public Defenders are my personal heroes and with a strong, professional state-wide support system (which they have needed and deserved for decades) they will be able to serve their clients and the community on an equitable bases.  I am pleased as punch about this.
>  
> Rose Huskey
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