Politics
A Defense of Public Defender Funding
Unless Congress acts, funding for federal public defenders will take a serious hit, with disastrous consequences for the people they represent.
gideon v. wainright
7 posts in ‘gideon v. wainright’
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.
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.
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.
Essay
Gideon Turns Sixty
The Court’s decision must not preempt questions about the role public defenders can play in ending mass incarceration.
Crimmigration
Court-Assisted Expulsions
Immigrants fighting their deportations need lawyers. That doesn’t mean federally funding their defense should be a movement goal.
interventions
The End of Public Defenders
One path to ending mass incarceration is ending our modern conception of public defense. And being transparent about our work is one way to start.