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beyond gideon

A collection of essays examining how—or whether—public defenders can meaningfully contribute to the end of mass incarceration.

5 posts in ‘beyond gideon’

Beyond Reform

Poor People Lose

Gideon v. Wainwright is the wrong cure for the reality that the carceral system is designed to target poor people.

Paul Butler

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organizing

Harnessing Union Power for Public Defense

As public defenders, we are not “fighting the system”—we are the system. Because of this, we have power, and the numbers, to change it.

Kiyomi Bolick

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collective action

An End to Bread and Water

When the state of Virginia starved them, the author and his incarcerated comrades banded together to gain recognition of their right as citizens to access the courts.

Calvin Arey

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A closer look

Choice of Counsel

People assigned a public defender are the only ones deprived of the right to choose their lawyer. This often intersects disastrously with racial bias.

Alexis Hoag-Fordjour

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Essay

Gideon Turns Sixty

The Court’s decision must not preempt questions about the role public defenders can play in ending mass incarceration.

Premal Dharia

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