In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled thatany person who is too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. But asJohn Oliverexplains in his latest Last Week Tonightreport, the public defender system has been warped beyond recognition leading to underfunded departments, pressured guilty pleas and the absurd notion of being billed for a supposedly free attorney.
Oliver breaks down the shocking numbers: In Fresno County, California, public defenders handle up to 1,000 felony cases per year, despite state guidelines stating they should only take on 150. According to a 2009 report, part-time defenders in New Orleans were limited to an average of seven minutes to prepare cases.
That is not long enough to prepare anything, Oliver says. If I only had seven minutes to prepare this show, I definitely would not be talking about public defenders right now. Id be desperately trying to fill time by listing Muppets in order of fuckability.
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The host continues to list absurd-sounding facts: 90 to 95 percent of U.S. criminal cases end in plea bargains, and theNew Orleans Public Defenders Office was recentlyforced to set up a crowdfunding page to meet their budget.
Access to a lawyer is supposed to be a constitutional right, and it is increasingly under threat, Oliver says. For instance, in four states [Georgia, Missouri, Virginia, Maine], you can make so little that you qualify for food stamps but still not be poor enough to get state-funded representation. And in at least 43 states, you can be billed for a public defender.
Fifty years after the Supreme Court gave everyone the fundamental right to an attorney, even if you cant afford one, we now have a system where the most vulnerable people are potentially being charged for access to a hideously broken system, he continues.
Oliver ends with a tragicallyhilarious depiction of a more accurate Miranda warning, with TV cops (including The Wires Sonja Sohn and Law & Orders Jeremy Sisto) listing off injustices as they apprehend suspects ending with the stern warning, Youre fucked.