{"id":46661,"date":"2022-02-15T18:17:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T23:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/public-defense-reform"},"modified":"2025-06-17T15:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T19:00:07","slug":"public-defense-reform","status":"publish","type":"issue","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/public-defense-reform","title":{"rendered":"Public Defense Reform"},"parent":46391,"menu_order":2,"template":"","class_list":["post-46661","issue","type-issue","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"featured-image":210625,"intro":"Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU\u2019s Criminal Law Reform Project works to ensure that public defense systems throughout the country reliably live up to the promise of the Sixth Amendment so that all criminal defendants \u2014 regardless of their wealth or poverty \u2014 receive fair treatment in the criminal legal system. Failing public defense systems violate the constitutional rights of the accused, lead to unjust outcomes, and contribute to our overburdened, inhumane, and wasteful jail and prison systems.","what-you-need-to-know":[{"highlighted":"","description":"An estimated one in three Americans will be arres\u00adted by the age of 23."},{"highlighted":"","description":"Roughly four out of five criminal defendants do not have the money to hire a lawyer and rely on public defenders or court-appointed lawyers to uphold their rights in the criminal process. "},{"highlighted":"","description":"In 2022, Black people made up 12% of local populations but 26% of the jail populations on average."}],"promo":{"description":"","button":"","url":""},"faq":{"description":"","faq-items":[{"title":"Which criminal rights are included in the Constitution?","content":"Several of the amendments to the Constitution prescribe rights that apply to the criminal legal system. These include protections against unreasonable search and seizure, being tried for the same crime twice, self-incrimination, excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishment. The Bill of Rights also includes positive rights such as the right to a speedy trial by a jury of one\u2019s peers, the right to counsel, as well as equal protection and due process."},{"title":"When does the constitutional right to counsel apply? ","content":"After the landmark decision in <i>Gideon v. Wainwright<\/i> that established the right to counsel, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded this right to children in juvenile delinquency proceedings, to people in probation revocation proceedings, and to indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors. The court has also found that the right to counsel applies for all defendants at their initial appearances and that plea bargaining constitutes a \"critical stage\" of any criminal proceeding, thereby requiring the effective assistance of counsel in connection with plea negotiations."},{"title":"What is the state of public defense?","content":"Across the country, many public defenders or assigned counsel are forced to juggle too many cases at once, which prevents them from conducting adequate investigation and legal research. Too often public defense providers meet their clients for the first time minutes before critical proceedings. Moreover, too often public defenders are up against prosecutors armed with greater resources, larger staff, and a partnership with the local law enforcement agencies.\r\n\r\nThe constitutional right to counsel requires more than a warm body to appear with a defendant. This right is not vindicated when attorneys lack the time and resources to be an effective advocate. Thus, one of the areas CLRP focuses on is creating or improving public defense systems to ensure quality representation for all defendants, regardless of income or social status."}]},"featured-stories":null,"latest-stories":null,"whats-at-stake":{"title":"What's at Stake","description":"All criminal defendants are constitutionally entitled to effective representation of counsel. However, for too many people in America, access to effective counsel is treated as a privilege for the few instead of a constitutional right guaranteed for all due to the lack of resources and time. Far too often, defendants are forced to appear at key hearings about probable cause or bail \u2014 or even to plea bargain or plead guilty \u2014 without the necessary legal guidance. This perpetuates existing inequalities and biases in our legal system. Without adequate public defense, most people in the criminal legal system face the full force of government power with nothing more than illusory rights.\r\n\r\nBy protecting and expanding the right to counsel, CLRP is helping to guarantee that states around the country ensure that people charged with crimes receive access to an attorney and meaningful assistance of counsel at every critical stage of criminal proceedings. The Constitution requires that everyone receive quality counsel when facing criminal charges, and CLRP is working to realize that promise."},"actions":"","drupal-id":51,"is_hidden_issue":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU\u2019s Criminal Law Reform Project works to ensure that public defense systems throughout the country reliably live up to the promise of the Sixth Amendment so that all criminal defendants \u2014 regardless of their wealth or poverty \u2014 receive fair treatment in the criminal legal system. Failing public defense systems violate the constitutional rights of the accused, lead to unjust outcomes, and contribute to our overburdened, inhumane, and wasteful jail and prison systems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Defense Reform | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU\u2019s Criminal Law Reform Project works to ensure that public defense systems throughout the country reliably live up to the promise of the Sixth Amendment so that all criminal defendants \u2014 regardless of their wealth or poverty \u2014 receive fair treatment in the criminal legal system. 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