People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without talking to a lawyer, a Lee Enterprises investigation found. The practice threatens people's constitutional right to counsel.
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.
Yet more than 136,000 misdemeanor cases have been closed without attorneys each year since 2019 across the West, according to data from Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Texas. Most other western states could not report how many misdemeanor defendants go unrepresented due to data collection challenges.
An estimated 276,000 Texas county misdemeanor cases from 2019 to 2021 showed no attorney, according to Texas Office of Court Administration data. More than 33,000 Utah cases from 2019 to 2022 had no attorney, according to Utah State Courts data. Defendants who had a lawyer at any point, including those who ultimately represented themselves, were excluded.
"Our governments don’t know what’s happening in our criminal courts if they can’t tell us who has lawyers and who doesn’t," Mosher said. “Placing poor defendants in a position where they must weigh their liberty interest against exercising their constitutional right to counsel is a form of coercion that leaves them with no meaningful choice at all,” Mosher said.
“Are you pleading guilty or not guilty to the charge of possession of marijuana?” Judge Spenrath asked the 27-year-old.The man then said he’ll plead guilty instead, since he’s"here" in court, in person. Spenrath paused and called up Racer.Racer reminded the inmate of their deal: “Guilty, but you get out of jail.”This time, the man pleaded guilty.He wasn’t told about another way to get out of jail that doesn't require cash.
No processSimilar quick pleas were heard in North Dakota. A man and a woman pleaded guilty in Burleigh County court to driving with suspended licenses. They didn't have defense attorneys and were sentenced in October to 10 days of electronic monitoring. No one should walk into court and give up rights without the advice of counsel, said Timothy Laughlin, executive director of Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. But it happens in Oklahoma, too.
In most counties, a public defender isn’t appointed to a person arrested for a misdemeanor unless the county attorney’s office intends to pursue jail time. Constitutionally, those people still have a right to an attorney because “every misdemeanor has the potential of jail time in Arizona,” Keenan said.
'Get it over with'Those who avoid jail might end up there later if they don’t complete probation or community service and get re-arrested. Then, they can’t challenge the original charge to which they pleaded guilty. Without talking with a public defender, Ahrendt said people may not know they can ask for deferred prosecution, community service, a payment plan for fees and arrangements to accommodate jobs. They might never discover a defense that could get their case dismissed.Though, Ahrendt said, some people “need that quick out.” Resolving their case in a few days might be needed to keep a job or housing.
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