2009 San Francisco Pubilc Defender Justice Summit
Note: The link for this video presentation is at the bottom of this article.
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May 6 Justice Summit - Justice for All!
The Sixth Amendment of the United States constitution provides that in a criminal case, an accused has the right to counsel. This guarantee was included because the founding fathers believed that the right to a lawyer was the only way to protect against oppressive government prosecution. However, it wasn't until 1963, in the famous case of Gideon v. Wainwright, that the U.S. Supreme Court required that the state pay the cost of appointing a lawyer for an accused. Before Gideon, lawyers were required to be provided in death penalty cases.
California has had a public defender system since 1916, when Clara Foltz, California's first woman lawyer, pushed a bill through the legislature requiring public defenders for the poor. The San Francisco Public Defender's office was formed in 1921.
Public defender offices have been historically underfunded. It is estimated that nationwide, only $1 dollar is put towards indigent defense for every $8 spent on law enforcement. This has resulted in overburdened public defender offices and high caseloads that make it extremely difficult to provide high quality representation to the poor.
San Francisco has one of the best public defender's offices in the nation. On a budget which is less than the amount that the police department is paid in overtime, the office provides legal representation to over 24,000 people each year. In 2005, the office received the American Bar Association's top award given to a public defense firm that serves as a model for other states. When the public defender's office is unable to handle a case due to an ethical conflict of interest, the case is then referred to the Bar Association of San Francisco, which oversees a panel of private attorneys who provide high quality representation at a reduced rate to people who cannot afford lawyers.
The goal of the May 6 Summit was to educate the public and attorneys on the role that defenders play in ensuring fair trials, protecting constitutional rights and exposing government misconduct. It was also aimed at mobilizing supporters to contact the Mayor and other elected officials to support funding for indigent defense.
Public defenders and court appointed attorneys provide legal representation to San Franciscans who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Defenders have the responsibility of ensuring that our constitutional rights are protected, that all Americans have a right to a fair trial, and that governmental misconduct is exposed. Because of the downturn in the economy, many more people cannot afford a lawyer and must rely on the public defenders and court appointed counsel for help.
Budget cuts have threatened to undermine the fundamental right to a lawyer. In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed cutting the SF public defender's office by 25%. This threatened to force the layoff of one-third of the office's staff. The public defender's office --- through its innovating reentry and Clean Slate programs --- has helped thousands of people turn their lives around, which in turn saves many more dollars than the proposed cut.
This summit established that there is a need to organize an ongoing action campaign around the following:
- Exempt the Public Defender's office from budget cuts.
- Ensure that the constitutional rights of our citizenry are protected and that poor and working people have a right to a competent and effective lawyer.
- Keep programs that help people remain arrest free --- such as the Public Defender's Clean Slate and prisoner reentry programs --- in tact.
- Support funding for schools and critical health, mental health and human services, not prison expansion.
- Fund after school and youth programs that provide positive alternatives to crime and gangs.
Program Schedule:
Welcome, Introduction & Keynote: Representing Communities of Color
Panel 1: Defending the Public and the Constitution (10:20am-12:00pm)
Panel 2: Defenders Serving the Community (1:15-2:30pm)
Speakers/panelists at this program included:
- Ted Cassman, President, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
- Hon. LaDoris Cordell, Former Superior Court Judge
- Bart Sheela, President, California Public Defenders Association
- Professor Barbara Babcock, Stanford University Law School
- Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender
- Richard Goemann, Director, National Legal Aid & Defender Association
- Cookie Ridolfi, Director, Northern California Innocence Project
- Barry Krisberg, Director, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
- Kimberly Thomas-Rapp, Equal Justice Society
- Michael Laurence, Director, Habeas Resource Center
- Christine Voss, Senior Public Defender, Riverside County
- Michael Judge, Chief Public Defender of Los Angeles
- Melanca Clark, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University Law School
- Michael Hennessey, Sheriff, San Francisco
Initiated by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, California Public Defenders Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco and the SF Public Defender's Office.
Endorsed by American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Legal Services for Children, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), The Asian Law Caucus, Women Defenders, Michael Hennessey, Sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco & Temple Emanuel.
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Click HERE to view this video presentation
