03 June, 2016

Louisiana Refuses to Budget for Public Defenders - The Atlantic

Louisiana Refuses to Budget for Public Defenders - The Atlantic: "In La Salle, another parish under Carson’s jurisdiction, the swell of cases grew so overwhelming that he enacted a “restriction of services” plan and, mid-summer last year, stopped representing some defendants accused of misdemeanors. While Carson is more desperate than most, “every jurisdiction is headed this way,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time.” More than three-quarters of the state’s 42 public defenders’ offices are struggling to avoid insolvency. The Louisiana Public Defender Board, which oversees every district office, has predicted “systemic failure in the public-defense system” by this summer.

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