If you can’t afford a lawyer, do your best to stay away from jail. Apparently, the economic downturn has also had a detrimental affect on the legal system. According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, court appointed lawyers are abandoning their clients because the state of Georgia can no longer cover legal fees due to a shortfall in the state’s budget.
Many of the public defenders across the nation are asked to represent several clients at a time and are severely underpaid. The New York Journal recently reported that public defenders in Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, Minnesota, Arizona and Missouri are suing for the right to decline new cases. At press time, hundreds of defendants in Georgia are currently without legal representation and the numbers are expected to grow.
The dearth of court appointed lawyers will have a detrimental affect on poor individuals who are charged with committing crimes. Without adequate representation, defendants have a higher chance of being falsely convicted. A solution must be given in the near future, or the court systems will be guilty of breaking the law by not providing defendants with the rights that are protected by the Sixth Amendment.
