NY Times Editorial
New York State’s highest court has affirmed the state’s constitutional duty to provide effective legal counsel to poor criminal defendants. It comes at a moment when public defender offices across the country are perilously short on financing and struggling with overwhelming caseloads.
The 4-to-3 ruling, written by the chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman, pointed to glaring dysfunction in the state’s county-by-county indigent defense system, and it said that a broad class-action lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the system could proceed. It noted that in many New York counties indigent defendants are routinely arraigned without a lawyer. At these initial court appearances, bail is also set and many defendants are sent to jail.
In allowing the case to go forward, the court rightly rejected the state’s argument that consideration of the adequacy of legal representation should be confined to individual, postconviction appeals. That has now set the stage for a trial or a settlement with the state to improve defender services.
Earlier this month Judge Lippman delivered a Law Day speech in Albany arguing for an even broader vision of justice, one that includes guaranteeing a lawyer for poor people in civil disputes where basic needs are at stake, like evictions and foreclosures. He plans to hold hearings around the state before unveiling a detailed plan next year. We applaud Judge Lippman’s new initiative. Equal justice demands adequate legal representation for all. That is especially important in tough times.
The 4-to-3 ruling, written by the chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman, pointed to glaring dysfunction in the state’s county-by-county indigent defense system, and it said that a broad class-action lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the system could proceed. It noted that in many New York counties indigent defendants are routinely arraigned without a lawyer. At these initial court appearances, bail is also set and many defendants are sent to jail.
In allowing the case to go forward, the court rightly rejected the state’s argument that consideration of the adequacy of legal representation should be confined to individual, postconviction appeals. That has now set the stage for a trial or a settlement with the state to improve defender services.
Earlier this month Judge Lippman delivered a Law Day speech in Albany arguing for an even broader vision of justice, one that includes guaranteeing a lawyer for poor people in civil disputes where basic needs are at stake, like evictions and foreclosures. He plans to hold hearings around the state before unveiling a detailed plan next year. We applaud Judge Lippman’s new initiative. Equal justice demands adequate legal representation for all. That is especially important in tough times.
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