logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | ACLU Sues New York

Bruce S Trachtenberg
March 17, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
Subscribe via E-Mail Get the newswire delivered to you – free! {source} [[form name=”ccoptin” action=”http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp” target=”_blank” method=”post”]] [[input type=”text” name=”ea” size=”20″ value=”” style=”font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:10px; border:1px solid #999999;”]] [[input type=”submit” name=”go” value=”GO” class=”submit” style=”font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:10px;”]] [[input type=”hidden” name=”m” value=”1101451017273″]] [[input type=”hidden” name=”p” value=”oi”]] [[/form]] {/source} Subscribe via RSS Subscribe via RSS Submit a News Item Submit a News Item

March 16, 2010; New York Times | Lawyers, legal aid groups, lawmakers, prosecutors and judges—and probably many people serving prison time—will be carefully watching whether a class-action suit being brought by the American Civil Liberties Union gets the go-ahead next week from the New York State Court of Appeals.

At issue is whether the public defender system adequately provides representation to defendants in criminal trials. According to the New York Times, under the present system it’s only after a conviction that defendants are generally able to make the case that they were not well represented by their court appointed lawyers. As the Times notes: “The court then reviews each appeal case by case. But the civil liberties lawyers argue that a broad review is necessary because the arrangement has not addressed systemic failings that unconstitutionally leave tens of thousands of defendants without meaningful representation in every part of the state.”

While the case is only to be argued in New York, its outcome could be felt nationwide. Some 80 percent of those on trial for felonies in large states don’t have the money to hire their own lawyers, leaving them at the mercy of whomever the court assigns them.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Not surprisingly, New York State has been fighting aggressively against the suit, which has been in play since 2007. The state argues that a court victory by the civil liberties group could result in what the Times says opponents describe as a “a judicial invasion of the authority of the Legislature and the governor.”

Kathleen B. Hogan, the president of the State District Attorneys Association, who feels the current system is “working well and protecting every right,” worries that if the suit goes against the state it would create chaos, and lead thousands of defendants to seek that their convictions be overturned, claiming poor representation at trial.

For Corey Stoughton, the lead lawyer for the Civil Liberties Union, that is the crux of the case. She argues that poor representation leads to convictions of innocent people and pressure on defendants to plead guilty. For now, a lot hangs in the balance for both sides.—Bruce Trachtenberg

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
What Nigeria Can Teach the US About Food Insecurity
Chidinma Iwu
Arab American Philanthropy
Tamara El-Khoury
Forerunners of Food Justice: Black Farmer Movement Spans Generations
Demetrius Hunter
What Would a Social Justice Investment Ecosystem Look Like?
Steve Dubb
Measuring Healthcare Equity in North Carolina
Sonia Sarkar
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation between Cyndi Suarez and Claire Dunning
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Foundation Giving Numbers for 2020 Show 15 Percent Increase
Steve Dubb
Strike MoMA Imagines Art Museums without Billionaires
Tessa Crisman

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.