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Judge to Philly appointed counsel: Work faster or not get appointed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer: Judge's message to lawyers: Work faster by Nancy Phillips and John Sullivan. Seventy percent of all serious felonies take longer than a year to dispose of, lower than the national average. Cases fall apart and the defendant goes free. Not because of bad charging decisions, but because of the defense? So, the Chief Judge wants appointed counsel to work faster, apparently without regard to outcomes. Down in the article: Court-appointed lawyers handle more than 15 percent of the city's criminal cases each year, representing defendants who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Stretton and other court-appointed lawyers criticized Dembe's focus on disposition rates. "This solves nothing," he said. "It's self-destructive...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).