In some states the average public defender can be taking on case loads of 400 cases in a year. Without the resources to hire expert witnesses, or the time to do a deep dive into a case, the most logical thing you can do as a public defender is take the plea bargain and minimize how much time your client will spend incarcerated. It’s a system of coercion. The DA throws spaghetti at the wall, we overwork public defenders almost forcing them to recommend the defendants plea out, and as a result, incarcerate more people than any other nation. It’s sickI wish I could remember which book I read it in, but in one counties lawyers joined together and refused all plea bargains. It almost instantly collapsed the legal system in their county and caused a multi year backlog. Our legal system is no longer setup to provide all people the right to a fair trial, we simply don’t provide the resources for it anymore.
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