The Las Vegas D.A. Is Seeking The Death Penalty More Than Nearly Any Other Steven Wolfson, the Clark County DA, says the death penalty is reserved for ‘very rare’ circumstances, but advocates and public defenders say his actions show otherwise. Sam Mellins
New York City Public Defenders Oppose Resuming In-Person Court Appearances The advocates describe the reopening as unsafe and unnecessary amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris Gelardi
Georgia Budget Cuts Threaten Prisoners’ Ability To Challenge Convictions Citing the pandemic, state legislators asked all agencies to trim their budgets. The cuts could eliminate positions for public defenders who can show a trial or sentence was unjust, overturn convictions, or reduce a person’s time. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Suffolk County DA’s Attack On Public Defenders Was Misguided During a Boston radio show where Rachael Rollins accused defenders of harming Black and Brown communities, the DA demonstrated that she misunderstands the role that prosecutors play in the criminal legal system: caging those very people. Premal Dharia, Jullian Harris-Calvin
COVID-19 Is Creating a State of Emergency For Incoming Public Defenders. Diploma Privilege Is the Only Solution. Several states and the District of Columbia have postponed their bar exams because of the pandemic, creating a deadly delay for poor people in need of public defenders. Stefanie Mundhenk, Emily M. Croucher
Palm Beach County Sheriff Opposes Prisoner Release Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Public defenders are working with the courts to secure release for people incarcerated in the Florida county, many of whom are jailed for low-level offenses. Victoria Law
New York City Courts Still Dangerous For Spread of Coronavirus, Public Defenders Say While those facing charges appear by video at arraignments, all others—attorneys, officers, the judge—are in the courtroom in close quarters, defense attorneys say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Pennsylvania Public Defenders Not Reinstated Despite Public Outcry Over Firing Montgomery County Chief Public Defender Dean Beer and Deputy Chief Keisha Hudson were fired last month after filing an amicus brief critical of the county’s bail setting practices. Joshua Vaughn
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Wants to Slash Public Defender Funding By $3 Million Advocates warn that the cuts could push an already overburdened system to the breaking point. Jay Willis
In Missouri, Public Defenders Push to Put Poor Defendants on Wait List in Attempt to Improve Their Legal Representation Critics say the list, which would apply to defendants in St. Louis County, Missouri, would infringe on people’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. Lauren Gill
Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Releases Criminal Justice Reform Plan The South Bend, Indiana, mayor says his plan—which includes cutting the incarcerated population by half—will "rebalance" a system that is "unfair and racist in many ways." Aaron Morrison
New Orleans Police Appear to Use Surveillance to Initiate Investigations City officials say its vast network of cameras are simply a tool when responding to 911 calls and complaints of criminal activity. But several cases suggest the system serves an additional purpose. Mike Hayes
Wisconsin’s ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is Forcing People To Sit in Jail Without a Lawyer At least two people have killed themselves in jail after waiting for more than a week to be appointed a lawyer. Mario Koran
Louisiana Bill Could Jail Defense Attorneys for Doing Their Jobs ‘The bill forces attorneys to choose between violating our ethical mandates or going to jail for following them.’ Kira Lerner
