tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post8824455149478478333..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: In Austin, a reminder why indigent defense should be independent of the judiciaryGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-64577059056158234112019-05-06T09:02:18.886-05:002019-05-06T09:02:18.886-05:00Anything to circumvent due process eh Bark?Anything to circumvent due process eh Bark?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-41403546373275162922019-05-05T14:18:06.834-05:002019-05-05T14:18:06.834-05:00Anon 11:24, you don't know shit about a public...Anon 11:24, you don't know shit about a public defender system. The standards you keep yapping about were set by those who would most benefit from the managed system of appointed lawyers.<br /><br />I have had quite a bit of experience with public defenders in systems like the one I described earlier. Let me tell you this ... I wish the criminals I busted would have been defended by a court appointed lawyer. They probably would have copped a plea instead of going to trial.<br /><br />It sure sounds like you night be one of the lawyers benefiting from the court appointment system. BarkGrowlBitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-67473312106806366822019-05-04T11:24:06.750-05:002019-05-04T11:24:06.750-05:00The most recent report that was circulated among t...The most recent report that was circulated among the Commissioners, defense bar, and other interested parties, pointed out that the managed system of appointed lawyers passed all of the standards and it was court administration that was slow to respond to the appointment of counsel. They are not one in the same. The managed appointment system (CAPDS) has met every standard it has been asked to, and the lineup of lawyers includes veteran trial lawyers, some Board Certified, that are as dedicated to their clients as any public defender. <br /><br />The driving force behind this effort to create public jobs for a select few people, are disgruntled former employees of CAPDS, spoiled law students wanting a government job handed to them, and ideological non-practicing lawyers (like grits). <br /><br />If some of the advocates of a PD system actually represented some indigent clients once in a while, did some trials, and put some real hours in representing an indigent client on a serious case, maybe it would not appear that they are just chronic complainers screaming from the cheap seats. If so, they might be taken a little more seriously by the legal community even if they are successful in bamboozling the Commissioners. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88814327997965556902019-05-04T07:07:34.471-05:002019-05-04T07:07:34.471-05:00I don't think it's true that Travis County...I don't think it's true that Travis County is the largest American county not to have a PD's office. Tarrant is bigger and uses court-appointed counsel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-72261583762881471512019-05-03T08:00:57.656-05:002019-05-03T08:00:57.656-05:00I am all for a public defender system. The court-...I am all for a public defender system. The court-appointed system serves the attorney more than it does a criminal defendant. But for a public defender's office to be effective it must have all the resources available to the prosecutor's office. That means the PD must have investigators on its staff and funds to pay expert witnesses. Without those resources a PD system will be little better than the court-appointed system.BarkGrowlBitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88116877448602964892019-05-03T06:27:12.985-05:002019-05-03T06:27:12.985-05:00One reason Texas continues to place indigent defen...One reason Texas continues to place indigent defense under the Judiciary is due to the historically conservative (some might say extremely conservative) nature of county commissioners courts. There is a legal history in Texas of underfunding indigent defense at the local level, which is why the system was reformed in 2001. <br /><br />We're in agreement that there should be some distance in the overall appointment process, and more transparency is necessary at the individual appointment level to ensure that happens (similar to what the Lege did with ad litem appointments a couple years ago). What doesn't need to happen is commissioners picking the method of appointment. They'll pick the cheapest option 9 times out of 10, leading to higher caseloads, longer time to disposition, and lower quality of representation.<br /><br />Disclaimer: I am not an attorneyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com