Tuesday, October 30, 2007
What needs to be done!
If economic class continues to determine the way juries and judges view court cases; our court system will lose its credibility and fairness. New York recently cut the fees it was going to pay its lawyers causing many lawyers to be upset and not want to work on the defendants case in capital punishment. Jonothan E. Gradess, executive director of the New York State Defenders Association, commented that he thought, “I think this is going to drive away quality lawyers, and I think this is going to put defendants at risk”. This article also reveals that defense lawyers in New York are paid $125 but in Alabama only $20. The huge difference between fees reveals the division in qualtiy of representation that two different defendants could recieve in each state merely beacuse of a lack of money. The article demonstrates how impportant it is that the state and national government provide sufficient funds to pay for the lawyers. I think that state governments should start providing more money to pay for defense attorneys. New York, New Jersey, and Colorado have already set up multi million dollar funds to help pay for lawyers and investigators. I also think that states like Alabama should raise the fees they pay their lawyers so that way then proper capital defense lawyers would be more willing to take the cases. I also think that there should be requirements set for lawyer experience so that defendants get proper defense lawyers. Innocent Protection Act in 2001 implements some of this idea by calling for competent defense lawyers. Sandra Day O'Connor commented on this issue that it is, "Perhaps its time to look at minimum standards for appointed counsel in death cases." This statement made by one of our supreme court justices further stresses the importance in lawyers that have proper experience. DNA technology and the best methods possible should be made available to all defendants without worry of expenses. Hopefully an improvement in the financial status of everyone in this counrty can also help lead to the reduction of crime and prejudices against poor people.
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6 comments:
I like the perspective of your post. I had never took the time to consider the wages of the defense attorneys in determining the quality of the service provided. It could be said then, that the large discrepancy in wages is also tied to the number of death penalty sentencings issued.
I agree with the fact that the salary of appointed lawyers in American courts is way below what they truly deserve. After all they are the lawyers who often take on some of the most complex of cases and dedicate the most amount of time with their clients. How can society expect these lawyers to be like private ones if they are getting almost half their salary?
However, salary may not always be the issue of court appointed lawyers. Often times these lawyers may take on these cases as a sort of social work and thus do not mind their salary. Yet, I don’t understand why the treatment of these lawyers is different from private lawyers. Why are appointed lawyers looked down upon? Shouldn't they deserve the same amount of respect especially since they are not receiving the pay they deserve?
I agree with the majority of what you said. Raising pay for state appointed lawyers would definitely give more qualified attorneys the incentive to work for the state department instead of Private firms. However, your argument about Alabama and New York may have more to do with each state's economy rather than the actual qualifications of the lawyers there. Life in New York is definitely more expensive; though the wage may appear higher it could still be proportionate to the standard of living. I'm not saying that there isn’t a gap in the qualifications of the lawyers in Alabama and New York, it’s just that rates lawyers charge may differ between states, but it doesn’t mean that the higher paid one is always the better attorney. Overall your ideas for having set standards for these attorneys would make a great difference in my opinion; the only problem I see is that it would then limit the number of state attorneys available to even take on these cases. I understand that the quality of lawyers is important, but if there are not enough lawyers and they are overworked, it will have the same detrimental effect on a client's defense.
I agree with the fact that social status should not play a role in the quality of defense received by a defendant. This might be a pessibmisstic way of looking at the situation but I feel like this problem will continue to persist in our justice system. Like you proposed at the end of your blog, I would be ideal if the social status of everyone in the United States imporved; that way, the affordibility of high-profile lawyers wouldn't be an issue anymore. Howver, since this isn't a possiblity, I feel like there will always be discrimition based on socioeconomic status of the defendant. The fact that some states are taking measures in order to reduce this problem by paying their lawyers a higher salary, but how does this new, higher, salary compare to the salary of privately owned lawyers? I feel like private lawyers will always have more influence in the cour room. These lawyers will always be more qualified. It will cost states mulimillion dollars in order to match their state-appointed lawyers up to the qualifications of many of the private lawyers.
You have a very interesting post. The overall layout of your post is very organized and informative. The readers are able to clearly understand your argument and understand its effects. However, there are a few aspects of the post that you could improve. Include the effects of your problem if it continues. Also hypothesize some more solutions to your problem. Don’t forget to stay focused in your argument. You seem to sway away from your argument about lawyer’s salary to other injustices. You could
use the sources you mention in the post to make the argument more precise.
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