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Alabama legislators move to exonerate the Scottsboro Boys
Pleading the Sixth: In March 1931, a fight broke out between a group of seven white boys and a larger group of black teenagers aboard a train. When almost all of the white teenagers were thrown off...
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Nevada Justice calls for state to fix rural right to counsel services
Pleading the Sixth: “Nevada’s rural counties simply cannot shoulder the state’s obligations under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution any longer,” announced Nevada Supreme Court Justice...
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A birds-eye view of independent commissions in the 50 states
In April 2013, New Mexico became the latest state to create a statewide independent public defense commission. There are now 20 states and the District of Columbia that have statewide public defender...
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Proposed Michigan legislation gives prosecutors a voice on indigent defense...
Pleading the Sixth: On April 10, 2013, two identical public defense reform bills were introduced in both chambers of the Michigan legislature. The bill gives the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of...
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New Michigan public defense reform bill introduced
Pleading the Sixth: Is 2013 the year that Michigan finally passes substantial right to counsel reform? In a two-part series, the 6AC discusses a new indigent defense reform bill introduced in the state...
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The criminalization of poverty: a spotlight on South Dakota
Pleading the Sixth: When states make counties wholly responsible for the delivery of trial-level indigent defense services without state oversight of those services, bad things can and do happen. In...
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Why the State of California is responsible for the public defense crisis in...
Pleading the Sixth: In late September 2013, more than 80% of the public defenders in Fresno County, California signed a letter protesting their working conditions, and in particular their excessive...
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6AC & SUSL press release on DOJ Grant Award
DOJ selects the Sixth Amendment Center & Seattle University School of Law to respond to nation’s indigent defense “crisis” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOSTON, Massachusetts (October 1, 2013) — The Sixth...
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Nevada Supreme Court issues order on early case resolution
Pleading the Sixth: A huge victory for right to counsel advocates in Nevada will most assuredly cause reverberations across the country. More than a year after the public defenders in Reno asked the...
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National Center for the Right to Counsel bill entered in U.S. House
Pleading the Sixth: On October 30, 2013, U.S. Representative Ted Deutch entered a bill to create a federally funded National Center for the Right to Counsel to aid states in meeting their...
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Federal Court orders Washington cities to remedy willfully deficient right to...
Pleading the Sixth: A U.S. District Court found in early December that two Washington cities are responsible for the systemic deficiencies depriving the indigent accused of their constitutional right...
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Delaware’s right to counsel deficiencies exposed
Pleading the Sixth: In January 2011, then-Chief Justice Myron Steele sought to end Delaware’s undue judicial interference in the state’s conflict indigent defense services by transferring...
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Closing Arguments with Dennis Keefe
“Closing Arguments” is a joint venture of the National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) and the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC). The 6AC will regularly sit down with long-time right to counsel...
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Closing Arguments with Fred Friedman
“Closing Arguments” is a joint venture of the National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) and the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC). The 6AC regularly sits down with long-time right to counsel leaders...
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6AC & PJI release issue paper on early appointment of counsel
The Pretrial Justice Institute and the Sixth Amendment Center jointly release a new report, Early Appointment of Counsel: The Law, Implementation, and Benefits, that concludes that the justice goals...
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Idaho Governor signs public defense commission bill into law
Pleading the Sixth: Idaho became the 23rd state to create a statewide public defender commission overseeing right to counsel services when the Governor signed a reform bill into law after it...
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US DOJ enters Statement of Interest in NYCLU class action lawsuit
Pleading the Sixth: The U.S. Department of Justice entered a Statement of Interest in a class action lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union alleging egregious Sixth Amendment violations...
View ArticleRedefining the Right to Counsel in Tennessee
The voice of the people is negated on indigent defense in Tennessee. The 6AC points to a new way forward in resolving long-standing structural deficiencies in the state’s district defender conference...
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How public defenders struggle with ethical blindness
Pleading the Sixth: Do psychological factors force public defenders to rationalize sub-par performance in the face of excessive caseloads? And are these unconscious phenomena responsible for the...
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Wisconsin’s low attorney compensation rates create conflicts for the indigent...
Pleading the Sixth: Imagine holding the same job for 30 years without ever once receiving a raise. If that job required you to pay for many of the associated costs of doing business, inflation alone...
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