| 50 Years Later, We Must Work To Fulfill The Promise Of Gideon |
March 18, 2013 |
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Jan Schakowsky, D-IL
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"In 1961, an itinerant man named Clarence Earl Gideon was accused of breaking into a pool hall in Florida and stealing some liquor, as well as money from a jukebox and a cigarette machine. He asked the judge in his burglary trial for a lawyer. He was too poor to hire one himself, Gideon said, but he needed help with his case. The judge said the state was under no obligation to provide him with an attorney. So Gideon represented himself, badly, and ended up in prison. But he fought his conviction—all the way to the Supreme Court, insisting that there was no such thing as a “fair trial” if both sides didn’t have representation. Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in that case, Gideon v. Wainwright, which established the constitutional right to free counsel for poor people accused of serious crimes. Most Americans are familiar with this result, thanks to television and movies; police officers say as they arrest someone: “You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” In the 1960s, complying with the ruling seemed quite possible. Sure, it would be expensive for local governments that had to oversee and fund such efforts. But the number of indigent folks accused of crimes was smaller and, arguably, more manageable. Cities and counties established public- defender offices, staffed by salaried lawyers who were paid by the city, county, state or some combination of these; they also developed a roster of private attorneys whom judges appointed on an as-needed basis, paying an hourly rate; and some contracted with a single law firm or attorney for all local public defense. It sort of worked. But over time the war on drugs, the “three strikes” laws and the lock-‘em-up mentality of politicians have led to indigent clients flooding the courts. Courts are overburdened, and across the country, lawyers for the poor are routinely buried beneath crushing caseloads and working in underfunded offices. Without adequate resources, it’s hard to hire the investigators, experts or paralegals to mount a good defense. The stakes are high—for the man on death row to the teen picked up for marijuana possession. Attorney General Eric Holder decried the “crisis” in indigent defense when he spoke to the American Bar Association last year. Programs across the country were “underfunded and understaffed,” he said. Citing “insufficient resources, overwhelming caseloads and inadequate oversight,” he worried about a breakdown: “Far too many public defender systems lack the basic tools they need to function properly.” The problems have been well documented. A 2009 investigation by the Constitution Project, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and the National Right to Counsel Committee concluded that the system of providing counsel for the poor was broken and that defendants’ constitutional rights were routinely violated. The groups drew from news articles, law reviews and myriad panicked reports that cities, counties and states had generated. Their report, “Justice Denied: America’s Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel,” documented instances in which public defenders carried as many as 500 active felony cases at a time (the American Bar Association recommends 150) and as many as 2,225 misdemeanor cases (the ABA recommends "
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| Department Of Defense, Military Construction And Veterans Affairs, And Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 |
March 13, 2013 |
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Tom Harkin, D-IA
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"Did anyone tell States to stop this, stop what they were doing to help serve our citizens? That is what this Cruz amendment does. The Cruz amendment would take us back to the days of the doughnut hole for the elderly because the Affordable Care Act closes that doughnut hole. We are closing it year after year; 6.1 million seniors have already saved more than $5.7 billion in discounts on drugs purchased in the doughnut hole. The Cruz amendment would stop that. It would increase seniors’ drug prices by an estimated $3,500 per person over the next 10 years."
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| Legalizing Marijuana |
February 5, 2013 |
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Earl Blumenauer, D-OR
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"Mr. Speaker, since I was a high school student, I’ve watched the escalation of the war on drugs, especially marijuana. I slowly became aware of its widespread use. As a freshman legislator in Oregon 40 years ago, my opinion was set by a hog farmer from eastern Oregon who was a State representative named Stafford Hansell."
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| Celebrating The Life Of Harlem’S Community Leader Dorothy Mae Skinner |
December 12, 2012 |
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Charles Rangel, D-NY
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"Dorothy was very engaged in the war on drugs in the 1970’s and 1980’s and became active with the New York City Police Department 30th and 32nd Precincts and community councils. Dorothy was both friend and foe of the neighborhood drug dealers, for they all loved her but knew she was leading the fight against them, a fight she handily won. As President of the Block Association, she organized block parties, jazz mobiles, Halloween parties in Hamilton Park, and coordinated activities with the Police Athletic League (PAL)."
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| Tribute To Tom Vicini |
December 4, 2012 |
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Harold Rogers, R-KY
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"For the last 34 years, Tom has spent his evenings and weekends coaching little league baseball, a lifelong passion. Tom is more than a successful coach, however. He is also an excellent mentor and role model, encouraging players to stay off drugs, make healthy life choices, and never give up. Tom makes sure that every child gets to play, regardless of talent. All he asks for in return is that they give their best effort on the field. Additionally, Tom organizes free baseball camps for youth and assists with various drug-free programs, including Shoot Hoops Not Drugs and Hooked on Fishing—Not on Drugs. In honor of his contributions to the sport of baseball, Tom received the 2012 Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Play Healthy Award through the Partnership at DrugFree.org in conjunction with MLB Charities."
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