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Law professor Jonathan Rapping says public defenders impact more than just what happens in the courtroom and should lead the charge to end mass incarceration.
Public defenders are a critical aspect of the U.S. criminal justice system as they help 80% of the people who interact with the court systems.
When Jonathan Rapping first started practicing law as a public defender, he did not fully appreciate the role and impact that public defenders play in ensuring justice for marginalized people. But in the years since then, that’s changed and in his new book, Rapping argues that overhauling the public defender system could radically change the nation’s criminal justice system for the better.
The order, signed by Biden on Tuesday, directs the Department of Justice to devise a plan for expanding access not just to public defenders but to the civil court system as well, where legal representation is not guaranteed by the government.
It’s an issue advocates say is timely since the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a surge in tenants and homeowners fighting evictions and foreclosures, as well as those pushing for medical assistance.
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They also see it as an opening for the Biden administration to require access to an attorney in immigration courts a civil court setting where migrants can face life-altering outcomes like deportation.
Soon after receiving his license to practice law in Maine in May 2015, Jeremiah McIntosh, 36, began a new career as a small-town lawyer in the northeast corner of Aroostook County.
McIntosh advertised online that he had spent almost a dozen years working as a civilian employee for the Defense Department. Now, he quickly fell back into life in his hometown. He volunteered for the town planning board, helped the library register as a nonprofit and opened a rural law office in the small, close-knit community of Washburn, where fewer than 2,000 people live.
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor.
Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway ProPublica 2/23/2021
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This article was produced in partnership with The Maine Monitor, which was a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
Soon after receiving his license to practice law in Maine in May 2015, Jeremiah McIntosh, 36, began a new career as a small-town lawyer in the northeast corner of the state’s rural Aroostook County.
McIntosh advertised online that he had spent almost a dozen years working as a civilian employee for the Defense Department. Now, he quickly fell back into life in his hometown. He volunteered for the town planning board, helped the library register as a nonprofit and opened a rural law office in the small, close-knit community of Washburn, where fewer than 2,000 people live.
Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway propublica.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from propublica.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.