Challenges that need to be addressed

Our criminal justice system often punishes severely defendants who (1) are too poor to be able to afford an adequate defense attorney, (2) do not know the laws and how they should be applied, and (3) do not know what resources are available to assist them with their plight.
March 8

Understanding the right to counsel

  • The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution requires that defendants (in criminal cases) receive "effective" assistance. This assistance is not considered to be effective, merely because the attorney stands alongside the defendant. A defendant must have an attorney that advocates for their client.
  • In most instances, criminal defendants who do not have the income to afford high priced attorneys, they do not receive effective assistance. Instead, the defendants are forced to plead guilty to lengthy terms of imprisonment. They are even, at times forced to go to trial, without an adequate defense to the charged offenses.
  • The United States Sentencing Commission issued a report for the 2010 fiscal year. In their report, the Commission revealed that roughly 96% of the defendants prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office, ended with a plea of guilty to the charged offenses. This is shocking.
  • What do you think?
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Fighting for the constitutional rights of those who can’t!

Fighting for the constitutional rights of those who can’t!