Law Commons^™

When The Cheering (For Gideon ) Stops: The Defense Bar And Representation At Initial Bail Hearings, Douglas Colbert

Douglas L. Colbert

This article suggests that the absence of representation at the beginning of a State criminal prosecution must come to a screeching halt. The criminal defense bar should take a leadership role and dedicate Gideon's anniversary to making certain that an accused's right to the effective assistance of counsel begins at the initial bail hearing. Indeed, guaranteeing vigorous representation should be the defense bar's number one priority.

Reclaiming Equality To Reframe Indigent Defense Reform, Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Equal access to resources is fundamental to meaningful legal representation, yet for decades, equality arguments have been ignored in litigating indigent defense reform. At a time when underfunded indigent defense systems across the country are failing to provide indigent defendants with adequate representation, the question of resources is even more critical. Traditionally, advocates seeking indigent defense reform have relied on Sixth Amendment arguments to protect the rights of indigents in this context; however, the Sixth Amendment approach suffers from a number of shortcomings that have made it a poor tool for systemic reform, including its exclusive focus on attorney performance …

Notoriously Lousy: Applying The Strickland Test When Defense Counsel Fails To Seek To Avoid The Imposition Of Collateral Consequences, Alfredo Vasquez

Alfredo Vasquez

From the 1970s through the early 2000s, plea bargains resolved the vast majority of criminal cases in the United States. While the number of guilty pleas has been consistently high, the number of collateral consequences flowing from criminal convictions has increased. The Supreme Court imposed some regulation on guilty pleas during the last part of the 1960s but it was not until its decision in Padilla v. Kentucky in 2010 that the Court began regulating defense counsel’s duties towards his client during plea negotiations. The Court so far has limited its rulings to immigration consequences in Padilla, and the attorney-client …

Reforming The Right To Legal Counsel In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

This is an opinion prepared for the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Singapore on an arrested person’s right to legal counsel in Singapore. Specifically, it deals with the following: (1) it summarizes pertinent aspects of the law relating to the right to legal counsel in Singapore; (2) it surveys a number of ASEAN and Commonwealth jurisdictions to determine how long after apprehension the right to counsel is generally accorded to arrested persons, and compares the legal position in these jurisdictions to the situation in Singapore; and (3) it examines two rights ancillary to the right to legal …

Promoting Social Change In Asia And The Pacific: The Need For A Disability Rights Tribunal To Give Life To The Un Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities, Michael L. Perlin

Michael L Perlin

ABSTRACT

There is no question that the existence of regional human rights courts and commissions has been an essential element in the enforcement of international human rights in those regions of the world where such tribunals exist. In the specific area of mental disability law, there is now a remarkably robust body of case law from the European Court on Human Rights, some significant and transformative decisions from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and at least one major case from the African Commission on Human Rights.

In Asia and the Pacific region, however, there is no such body. Although …

The Practice Of Criminal Defence: Why We Fight And Defend Those Most Imperilled, Every Day, Beau James Brock

Beau James Brock

Being a criminal defense attorney is a special calling. Aside from dealing with the human element, they also fight daily to see the government acts within the bounds established by the Bill of Rights.