Keyword
518 Results
ABC Cards
- Does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel apply in U.S. territories?
- Can a state pass its right to counsel obligations onto local government?
- Why is the right to counsel a state government obligation?
- What kind of system can ensure an effective lawyer?
- What level of performance must an appointed lawyer provide to a person?
- Can a prosecutor negotiate a plea with an unrepresented person?
- Can there be a critical stage without a person having a lawyer?
- What is a “critical stage” in a case?
- When during the criminal case must government provide a lawyer?
- Can a state provide the right to counsel in non-criminal cases?
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How Cards
- What is a state commission, and how should it be made up?
- Are there attorney compensation models governments should avoid?
- How must government pay private attorneys for their appointed work?
- Do public defenders or private attorneys provide better services?
- What is a public defender?
- How do state governments deliver right to counsel services?
- Are right to counsel services always administered out of the same branch of government in each state?
- Is there a preferred administration model?
- Are all hybrid state-local government administration models the same?
- What does “administering public defense services” mean?
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Blog Posts
- Illinois leaves “no state oversight” list with new legislation
- Guam Gains Defender Independence in Unanimous Bipartisan Win
- Nevada removes political interference from the system
- Big Public Defense Wins in North Dakota
- Onward & Upwards: 6AC Announces New Executive Director and President
- Maine court requires relief for unrepresented defendants
- Gideon is important . . . just not for the reason you think!
- New 6AC report finds South Dakota counties are at a breaking point and need state oversight
- Federal district court in Arkansas rules defendants have a right to an attorney at bail hearings
- Colorado bans flat fees and low hourly rates in certain cases
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Evaluations
- The Right to Counsel in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
- The Right to Counsel in South Dakota
- The Right to Counsel on Guam
- The Right to Counsel in Lake County, California
- The Right to Counsel in Oakland County, Michigan
- The Right to Counsel in New Hampshire
- The Right to Counsel in Illinois
- The Right to Counsel in Santa Cruz County, California
- The Right to Counsel in Armstrong County & Potter County, Texas
- The Right to Counsel in Wayne County, Michigan
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Timeline Events
- Oklahoma Territory law requires the appointment of counsel in all criminal cases.
- Wyoming law requires the appointment of counsel in felony cases.
- The New York Office of Indigent Legal Services is created.
- The Alabama Office of Indigent Defense Services is created.
- Illinois law requires the state to pay two-thirds of each county public defender’s salary.
- New Mexico citizens vote to pass a constitutional amendment to create a Public Defender Commission, which oversees the Law Offices of the Public Defender. This is the first state to ensure independence of the defense function in its state constitution.
- The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is created.
- The Idaho Public Defense Commission is established.
- The Delaware Office of Defense Services is established.
- The Utah Indigent Defense Commission is created.
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Support 6AC
Criminal justice issues that disproportionately harm poor people, such as wrongful convictions and over-incarceration, cannot be fixed if indigent defendants are given attorneys who do not have the time, resources, or qualifications, to be a constitutional check on government. Yet, investment in improving indigent defense services remains largely neglected. The Sixth Amendment Center is the only nonprofit organization in the country that exclusively examines, uncovers, and helps fix the root of the indigent defense crisis in which inequality is perpetuated because poor defendants do not get a fair fight.
The Sixth Amendment Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under EIN: 45-3477185.
Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law.