BREAKING: We reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the state of California and Fresno County, seeking to ensure the right to a lawyer in criminal cases is upheld in all of the state's 58 counties for ALL accused people, regardless of how much money you have.
We filed a lawsuit in 2015 with @ACLU_NorCal, @ACLU_SoCal, @Paul_Hastings, @MorganLewisLaw, @sdACLU and @NovellaYColeman against California and Fresno County, seeking relief for the county’s failing public defense system.
For decades, no state-level agency in California has provided financial or any other support to the counties for trial-level public defense services.
Under the settlement, @GavinNewsom has included $14 million dollars in his annual proposed budget to expand the mission of the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD), which currently handles only death penalty appeals.
These funds will be used to expand OSPD to provide support, including training and technical assistance for California counties. The expansion would also permit OSPD to identify more steps that should be taken to improve California counties’ public defense systems.
The crisis in California that led to this lawsuit is not an anomaly.
Across the country many public defenders have to juggle hundreds of cases at once, forcing them to cut corners in the investigation, case preparation, and legal research necessary to ensure that every client benefits from the presumption of innocence and the right to counsel.
This commitment from @GavinNewsom is a significant step towards ensuring that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is upheld throughout all of California’s 58 counties for all accused people, regardless of how much money you have.
We will continue to challenge failing public defense systems across the country to ensure quality representation for all defendants, regardless of income or social status.
