[Vision2020] Idaho needs to fix public defender gap with funding

[Sunil]

I disagree Tom. Idaho's legislature has said that, but I give Otter credit for raising the issue. If he took the position you credit to him, he wouldn't even bring up the issue.

Sunil

From: thansen at moscow.com
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2016 05:09:57 -0800
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho needs to fix public defender gap with funding

Perhaps what Governor Otter has been saying all along I s . . .
"Those Idahoans that can't afford a lawyer, don't deserve one."
Courtesy of today's (January 24, 2016) Spokesman Review.
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Editorial: Poor Idahoans deserve a lawyerIndigent and possibly innocent Idahoans will not find justice until the state fulfills its duty to provide them effective legal representation.Their search goes on. Thursday, a Boise judge dismissed an effort by four defendants, including one from Bonner County, to get the state to fully fund public defender offices. The Legislature slyly handed off to the counties responsibility for providing legal counsel to defendants, but provided no money to help them do so; a classic unfunded mandate.The inadequacy of the resources committed to public defenders was confirmed in a 2010 report prepared by the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association at the request of the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission, which was appointed by then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.Among the findings: There were no consistent standards for caseloads, training or performance for attorneys who could be representing defendants facing capital charges or misdemeanors.In some counties, 19 of which pay a fixed fee for public defenders, one lawyer might be carrying the workload of four.Kootenai County was among those specifically cited for insufficient support for public defenders. The governor and Legislature have tacitly acknowledged their dereliction by serially creating a special governor’s subcommittee, a special legislative committee and, finally, an Idaho Public Defense Commission.That body, charged with promulgating rules for training defense attorneys and setting requirements for caseload and spending reports, was supposed to come back to the Legislature with recommendations every year on Jan. 20. Nothing happened last year. Nothing happened this year.In his ruling, District Judge Samuel A. Hoagland did not contradict arguments the state – not the counties – was failing to fulfill its obligations under the Sixth and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Article 1 of the Idaho Constitution.He dismissed the case on other grounds, including government immunity, the standing of plaintiffs yet to be convicted, and separation of powers.The American Civil Liberties Union will appeal, and well it should.In 1963 – 53 years ago – a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court said the Constitution required that Clarence Earl Gideon, an indigent defendant, was entitled to a lawyer. The case, Gideon v. Wainwright, was profiled in a prize-winning book, “Gideon’s Trumpet.” Gideon was no angel, but when retried on the original burglary charge with a lawyer to represent him, the jury came back with a not guilty verdict in little more than an hour.There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Gideons in Idaho. Providing attorneys for each one will be costly, especially for counties with few resources. But Boise should be paying the bills.The sanctity of the Constitution is invoked often by conservative Idahoans.You can’t skip over the expensive parts.---------------------------------

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)http://www.MoscowCares.com  Tom HansenMoscow, Idaho  
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