Justice for All?

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has released a new report that details problems nationwide with the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes -- the "explosive growth" of misdemeanor cases has forced defense attorneys to carry such large caseloads that they have "too little time for clients to be properly represented," reads the report.

Here's how the NACDL sums up the situation:

"NACDL’s comprehensive examination of misdemeanor courts, including a review of existing studies and materials, site visits in seven states, an internet survey of defenders, two conferences, and a webinar, demonstrated that misdemeanor courts across the country are incapable of providing accused individuals with the due process guaranteed them by the Constitution. As a result, every year literally millions of accused misdemeanants, overwhelmingly those unable to hire private counsel, and disproportionately people of color, are denied their constitutional right to equal justice. And, taxpayers are footing the bill for these gross inefficiencies."

The entire report can be found here.

Frighteningly, the group found large caseloads in a number of jurisdictions, including in Dallas where attorneys have an average of 1,200 cases, and in New Orleans, where attorneys handle more than 18,000 cases in a year. The national standard, they report, is 400 cases. And as the number of cases increases, the amount of time dedicated to each case and client drops drastically -- under the national standard, attorneys spend six hours per case; at 1,200 cases per year that drops to two hours. With 19,000 cases, the time spent on each drops to a sickening seven minutes per case.