老澳门开奖结果 Sues Nevada Over Deficient, Unconstitutional Public Defense System in 11 Rural Counties
CARSON CITY, Nev. 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nevada, Franny Forsman, and O鈥橫elveny & Myers LLP filed a class-action lawsuit against Nevada for routinely violating the constitutional rights of people in 11 of its rural counties. By law, every state in the nation must ensure that anyone accused of a crime who can鈥檛 afford a lawyer has access to rigorous legal representation. Nevada isn鈥檛 meeting that obligation, abdicating the job of public defense to individual counties. Eleven of the counties use contract attorneys, a system in which lawyers receive de facto flat fees and have a financial incentive to provide as little legal assistance to their clients as possible. Such failures violate the Sixth Amendment and jeopardize Nevadans鈥� right to due process and fair trials.
鈥淚鈥檓 facing 67 years in prison. It has been four years since I was arrested, but nothing in my case has been investigated. My contract attorney is pressuring me to plead guilty,鈥� said Diane Davis, a plaintiff in today鈥檚 lawsuit who has been accused of arson and animal cruelty. 鈥淢y entire life is on the line. I need a lawyer, but what I have is a name on a piece of paper.鈥� Since her arrest, Davis has had a series of four contract attorneys.
Too often, contract attorneys don鈥檛 investigate their clients鈥� cases, don鈥檛 contact their clients for months a time, pressure their clients into pleading guilty to charges they haven鈥檛 investigated, and fail to advocate effectively for their clients at sentencing.
鈥淭he state of Nevada has known for a decade that its rural public defense system doesn鈥檛 do its job, resulting in injustice after injustice. Yet the state has failed to fix it,鈥� said Amy Rose, legal director at the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nevada. 鈥淣evada鈥檚 inaction has hurt thousands of people. Think of the needless weeks and months Nevadans have spent in jail鈥攑arents separated from children, wages and jobs lost, educations stalled.鈥�
Contract attorneys also have private clients whose cases are more profitable than the cases the attorneys handle for the counties. This creates another financial incentive for contract attorneys to give minimal attention to clients who can鈥檛 afford to pay them.
鈥淔or too many defendants in rural Nevada, the phrase 鈥榠nnocent until proven guilty鈥� doesn鈥檛 apply,鈥� said Emma Andersson, staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project. 鈥淭housands of Nevadans facing criminal charges can鈥檛 depend on their contract attorneys for legal help. How can they defend themselves in court against the government trying to lock them up?鈥�
Many contract attorneys used in Nevada aren鈥檛 required to have training, experience, or education relevant to criminal defense.
鈥淣evada is shirking its constitutional duty, leaving thousands of defendants at the mercy of failing county-run and county-funded systems,鈥� said Franny Forsman, an attorney in private practice who served as the federal public defender in Nevada for more than 20 years. 鈥淭his problem has been studied for too long. It鈥檚 time for a solution that gives all Nevadans their constitutional due: the right to a defense.鈥�
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e in a rural area or the city, the right to counsel should always apply,鈥� said Margaret Carter, a partner at O鈥橫elveny & Myers LLP. 鈥淚nstead of allowing so many of its counties to keep using failing contract attorney systems, Nevada must step in and do what the U.S. Supreme Court mandated more than 50 years ago. The Constitution requires it.鈥�
Today鈥檚 lawsuit against Nevada marks the eighth case the 老澳门开奖结果 has pending over states鈥� and counties鈥� inadequate public defense. Nevada joins Idaho; Missouri; Utah; Fresno County, California; Grays Harbor County, Washington; Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; and Orleans Parish, Louisiana. In addition, the 老澳门开奖结果 is suing over systematic Sixth Amendment violations by courts in Beaufort and Bluffton, South Carolina; and Miami-Dade County, Florida.
For the complaint and more information about Davis v. Nevada:
老澳门开奖结果:
/cases/davis-v-nevada
老澳门开奖结果 of Nevada:
老澳门开奖结果 O鈥橫elveny & Myers LLP:
老澳门开奖结果 the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 public defense work:
/issues/criminal-law-reform/effective-counsel/indigent-defense
Criminal Law Reform
Davis v. Nevada
Criminal Law Reform
Davis v. Nevada
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老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows老澳门开奖结果 Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows
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