You know that little line in the Miranda rights that goes a lil' something like "...you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you" right (that is paraphrasing!)? Well, in Miami-Dade that may not be the case soon. According to a report in today's Miami Herald, the Public Defender's Office is considering turning down "most felony cases." Aren't those the cases where those declared financially unable to retain private counsel need a public defender the most?
This is apparently in response to the large budget cuts the Legislature has handed down this year. Governor Crist begs to differ according to the report. He claims the state's public defenders were some of the least to be cut, so that's a matter of numbers. The bigger question is where does this leave the thousands of Miami-Dade citizens caught in the legal system who need, and have the right to, representation? Is this another example of the state-wide budget cuts affecting Florida's most vulnerable citizens the greatest?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Public Defender to refuse cases?
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2 comments:
No it does not. If the PD does this and the courts allow it the indigent cases will get two results. 1) The prosecution will have to drop the case because they cannot imprison anyone under constitutional law without having the services of an attorney or 2) will be assigned to a private attorney which will cost the government more than having a PD system.
Thank you for your comment! Just to follow up, the Miami-Dade PD has already started refusing felony cases that are not murder, rape or child abuse charges. Other counties (Broward, Pinellas, and Pasco) are now considering the same thing. Curious about your thoughts on the budget cuts argument (Gov. Crist saying it's not an issue and the PD saying it's the main issue)...
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