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I& #39;m sympathetic to all the arguments this piece makes about how the pandemic may undermine a host of defendants& #39; constitutional rights. But man, this opening paragraph about how criminal cases work in "normal times" is a fantasy. /1 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/constitution-pause-americas-courtrooms/616633/">https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc...
Let& #39;s take these claims one by one. First, the person is appointed a lawyer. Sometimes that& #39;s true. Sometimes, the person first has to pay a fee first. These are people, by definition, who are too poor to afford a lawyer. /2 https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/liman/document/pdfees-report.pdf">https://law.yale.edu/sites/def...
Sometimes, there simply aren& #39;t enough public defenders available and you& #39;re put on a waitlist (apropos of "the machinery of justice proceeds apace," which I& #39;ll take up next). /2.1 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/07/when-the-money-runs-out-for-public-defense-what-happens-next">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/0...
Sometimes, the attorney you& #39;re appointed is spread so thin and has so many clients that it& #39;s a stretch to even call them your attorney. /2.2 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/09/what-happens-when-there-s-only-one-public-defender">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/0...
Sometimes, your attorney is not qualified to do the work of adequately (let alone zealously) defending you. /2.3 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/08/when-real-estate-and-tax-lawyers-are-forced-to-do-a-public-defender-s-job">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/09/0...
Next, "the machinery of justice proceeds apace" (apace="swiftly; quickly.") That& #39;s a joke. People routinely wait for years for their case to be resolved. /3 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/19/why-carlos-montero-has-been-in-rikers-for-seven-years-without-trial">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/1...
Innocent people routinely plead guilty just to get out of jail because they& #39;re trapped there so long. Endlessly delayed trials ruin lives even for those who AREN& #39;T jailed, as @nytimes documented in the Bronx. /3.1 https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/nyregion/justice-denied-bronx-court-system-mired-in-delays.html">https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim...
The Constitution& #39;s guarantee of a speedy trial is usually put on the prosecutor. If the prosecutor is "ready for trial" but it& #39;s delayed for other reasons, no foul. But prosecutors too routinely game the system. /3.2 https://theappeal.org/internal-documents-reveal-how-bronx-prosecutors-are-taught-to-slow-down-cases/">https://theappeal.org/internal-...
Finally, the idea that you and your attorney can "review discovery" before trial is also a stretch. /4 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/07/undiscovered">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/0...
Fortunately more and more states are opening up the discovery process—including NY, which liberalized its discovery rules for the first time in 40 years in the wake of our reporting. /4.1 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/04/01/blindfold-off-new-york-overhauls-pretrial-evidence-rules">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/04/0...
But there are still many impediments to defendants having access to evidence in their case, not least of which is broadly-written victims& #39; rights laws, which allow victims to demand that prosecutors withhold discovery. /4.2 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/05/22/nicholas-law">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/05/2...
While it& #39;s 100% true that Covid has made the shitshow even shittier—and @MarshallProj has been out front reporting that—let& #39;s not forget that the criminal justice system in "normal times" was already a train wreck. In slow motion. /5 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/can-t-make-bail-sit-in-jail-even-longer-thanks-to-coronavirus">https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/0...
/fin.
