[At the suggestion of a commenter on my last post, I offer this petition:]
Sequestration imperils the constitutional right of criminal defendants to adequate legal representation. About 90% of federal criminal defendants require court-appointed counsel. In FY 2013, sequestration resulted in a $52 million cut to Federal Defender Services, bringing massive layoffs and furloughs. It is estimated that in FY 2014, if nothing is done, FDS will be forced to terminate as many as one-third to one-half of employees.
Funding for prosecutors is apparently headed in the opposite direction. The Senate Appropriations Committee last week announced a $79 million increase to the FY 2014 budget for U.S. Attorneys’ offices for the express purpose of bringing more criminal cases in federal court. This radical imbalance threatens the fundamental right to counsel.
Please join me in urging Congress and the President to restore adequate funding for Federal Defender Services.
Update: Thanks to all for the strong support so far. Please send me an email ([email protected]) with your name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), and city of residence. I will subsequently post a document with this petition and the names of signatories.
Fredrick Vars
Associate Professor, University of Alabama School of Law
Birmingham, Alabama
Posted by Fredrick Vars on July 24, 2013 at 01:38 PM
Comments
Thanks for starting this, Fred!
Glory McLaughlin Assistant Dean for Public Interest Law University of Alabama School of Law Tuscaloosa, AL
Posted by: Glory McLaughlin | Jul 25, 2013 12:19:17 PM
Please add my name.
Charles H Nadler, Esq. Adjunct Faculty (Law) Community College of Denver
Posted by: Charles H Nadler | Jul 25, 2013 12:14:45 PM
Please add my name: Rees Conrad Douglas Sioux City, IA
Posted by: Rees Conrad Douglas | Jul 25, 2013 12:01:09 PM
Please add me:
Cassandra Burke Robertson CWRU School of Law Cleveland, OH
Posted by: Cassandra Burke Robertson | Jul 25, 2013 11:58:13 AM
Please add my name:
John Lane, Esq. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Posted by: John Lane | Jul 25, 2013 11:55:00 AM
Count me in, with two feet jumping. Dan Markel FSU College of Law Tallahassee, FL.
Posted by: Dan Markel | Jul 25, 2013 11:54:30 AM
Please add my name. Michael K. Lahammer Lahammer Law Firm PC 425 2nd Street SE, Ste. 1010 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Posted by: Michael . Lahammer | Jul 25, 2013 11:53:38 AM
Janet Dolgin Jack and Freda Dicker Distinguished Professor of Health Care Law Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549
Posted by: Janet Dolgin | Jul 25, 2013 11:50:29 AM
Please add my name as well.
Professor Sheri Johnson Cornell Law School Ithaca, NY
Posted by: Sheri Johnson | Jul 25, 2013 11:47:44 AM
Not sure if you’re interested in practitioners, but if so, count me in.
Scott H. Greenfield New York, New York
Posted by: shg | Jul 25, 2013 11:45:05 AM
Please add my name.
Prof. David Abraham University of Miami School of Law Coral Gables, FL 33146
Posted by: David Abraham | Jul 25, 2013 11:35:21 AM
Please add my name in support of this petition.
Patricia Gray Director of Research Health Law & Policy Institute University of Houston Law Center
Posted by: Patricia Gray | Jul 25, 2013 11:20:11 AM
Professor Douglas A. Berman The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Columbus, Ohio 43210
Posted by: Doug B. | Jul 25, 2013 11:16:22 AM
Please add my name.
John H. Blume Professor of Law Cornell Law School Ithaca, New York
Posted by: John Blume | Jul 25, 2013 11:13:21 AM
Please add my name to the petition. Norman I. Silber
Professor of Law Maurice A. Deane School of Law Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11050
Senior Research Scholar Yale Law School New Haven, CT 06511
Posted by: Norman I. Silber | Jul 25, 2013 11:11:51 AM
Please add my name. Phyllis L. Crocker Professor of Law Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Cleveland State University Cleveland, Ohio
Posted by: Phyllis L. Crocker | Jul 25, 2013 11:05:56 AM
Assistant Professor Maurice A. Deane School of Law Hofstra Univetsity Hempstead, NY
Posted by: Kevin McElroy | Jul 25, 2013 11:05:17 AM
Please add my name; good luck! Grace Lee Associate Professor of Law in Residence The University of Alabama School of Law Tuscaloosa, AL
Posted by: Grace Lee | Jul 25, 2013 10:56:57 AM
Please add me to your petition. I work with Federal PD’s in their capital habeas units all the time and they are some of the finest, most dedicated advocates around. Michael J. Benza Senior Instructor of Law Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Posted by: Michael Benza | Jul 25, 2013 10:54:24 AM
Please add my name. Prof. Darryl K. Brown University of Virginia School of Law
Posted by: Darryl Brown | Jul 25, 2013 10:52:29 AM
Please add my name:
Adam Gershowitz Professor of Law William & Mary Law School Williamsburg, VA
Posted by: Adam Gershowitz | Jul 25, 2013 10:50:45 AM
Thank you for spearheading this important effort and please add my name.
Mary Berkheiser Profesor of Law Wm. S. Boyd School of Law University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
Posted by: Mary Berkheiser | Jul 25, 2013 10:41:24 AM
Please add my name:
Catherine M. Grosso Associate Professor of Law Michigan State University College of Law East Lansing, MI
Posted by: Catherine Grosso | Jul 25, 2013 10:33:31 AM
Please add my name:
Robin Charlow Professor of Law Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
Posted by: Robin Charlow | Jul 25, 2013 10:15:57 AM
Please add my name:
Robert N. Strassfeld Professor of Law Case Western Reserve University School of Law Cleveland, OH.
Posted by: Bob Strassfeld | Jul 25, 2013 10:10:48 AM
I entirely endorse the petition, which calls for funding that is not only needed to fulfill a constitutional mandate but also cost-effective.
http://ilc.fd.org/General%20Documents/FPD%20Fact%20Sheet%206%2025%202013.pdf
Prof. Eric M. Freedman | Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law | Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Posted by: Eric M. Freedman | Jul 25, 2013 10:01:15 AM
As a Legal Aid attorney in an overburdened local public defense system, I enthusiastically support this petition.
Posted by: Kent Moston | Jul 25, 2013 9:58:20 AM
I fully support the return to full support for Federal Defender Services – fulfilling the promise of Gideon in the most cost-efficient manner.
Posted by: Margery Koosed, Professor Emeritus University of Akron School of Law | Jul 25, 2013 9:44:11 AM
I support this petition.
Scott Bauries Robert G. Lawson Associate Professor of Law University of Kentucky
Posted by: Scott Bauries | Jul 25, 2013 9:31:56 AM
Please sign me up:
Michael L. Rich Associate Professor of Law Elon University School of Law Greensboro, NC
Posted by: Michael Rich | Jul 25, 2013 9:28:43 AM
Please add my name Mary Sue Backus Professor of Law University of Oklahoma
Posted by: Mary Sue Backus | Jul 25, 2013 9:13:42 AM
Please add my name: Susan D. Rozelle Professor of Law Stetson University College of Law
Posted by: Susan D. Rozelle | Jul 25, 2013 9:13:29 AM
Thank you for doing this. Please add my name as well:
Cortney Lollar Assistant Professor of Law University of Kentucky College of Law
Posted by: Cortney Lollar | Jul 25, 2013 9:06:23 AM
Please add my name:
Kimberly D. Bailey Assistant Professor of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law
Posted by: Kimberly Bailey | Jul 25, 2013 9:02:42 AM
Please add my name.
Michael J. Zydney Mannheimer Professor of Law Salmon P. Chase College of Law Northern Kentucky University
Posted by: Michael J.Z. Mannheimer | Jul 25, 2013 8:59:51 AM
Please add my name: Sanford Greenberg, Professor of Legal Research and Writing, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL
Posted by: Sanford Greenberg | Jul 25, 2013 8:58:00 AM
Oh, and please add my name:
Jonathan Rapping Associate Professor and Director, Honors Program in Criminal Justice Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School
Posted by: Jonathan Rapping | Jul 25, 2013 8:41:20 AM
Thanks for starting this petition. I work with public defenders in crippled state court systems and serve on the Board of the Federal Defenders Program in Atlanta. The federal system has always served as a model for states that never respected Gideon. Sadly, now the federal system seems to be sending a very different message to states….that it values the right to counsel as little as these state systems.
Posted by: Jonathan Rapping | Jul 25, 2013 8:39:44 AM
Please add my name.
Posted by: Pamela Metzger | Jul 25, 2013 8:38:10 AM
Please add my name to this petition. The promise of Gideon v. Wainrwright must not be lost.
Joshua Dressler Frank R. Strong Chair in Law Michael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University Columbus, OH
Posted by: Joshua Dressler | Jul 25, 2013 8:27:56 AM
Please add my name to the petition
James Gronquist Adjunct Professor Charlotte School of Law Charlotte, NC
Posted by: James Gronquist | Jul 25, 2013 8:25:33 AM
Adjunct Professor at Charlotte School of Law, Charlotte, North Carolina
Posted by: James Gronquist | Jul 25, 2013 8:22:33 AM
Please add my name.
Monroe H. Freedman Professor of Law Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
Posted by: Monroe Freedman | Jul 25, 2013 7:24:10 AM
Please sign me on.
Juliet P. Stumpf Professor of Law Lewis & Clark Law School Portland, OR
Posted by: Juliet P. Stumpf | Jul 25, 2013 1:25:07 AM
I support it.
Gabriel J. Chin Professor of Law, University of California, Davis, School of Law Institutional affiliation listed for identification only.
Posted by: Jack Chin | Jul 25, 2013 12:04:08 AM
Please add me to the petition:
Professor Virginia E. Hench The W.S. Richardson School of Law The University of Hawai`i at Manoa 2515 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822
Posted by: Virginia Hench | Jul 24, 2013 11:41:09 PM
Please add my name: Cynthia Alkon Associate Professor of Law Texas Wesleyan University School of Law Fort Worth, TX
Posted by: Cynthia Alkon | Jul 24, 2013 11:34:27 PM
The U.S. should never be so strapped that it cannot afford justice. I support the petition.
Posted by: Frank R. Herrmann | Jul 24, 2013 8:15:01 PM
I support it also.
Carlin Meyer Prof. of Law New York Law School
Posted by: Carlin Meyer | Jul 24, 2013 7:47:51 PM
Happy to join,
Brian Sheppard Associate Professor Seton Hall University School of Law
Posted by: Brian Sheppard | Jul 24, 2013 7:17:15 PM
I am happy to support this petition.
Ann C. McGinley William S. Boyd Professor of Law University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law Las Vegas, NV
Posted by: Ann McGinley | Jul 24, 2013 6:41:48 PM
Patrick S. O’Donnell Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA
Posted by: Patrick S. O’Donnell | Jul 24, 2013 6:32:55 PM
Please add my name-Bryan Adamson
Posted by: Bryan Adamson | Jul 24, 2013 6:25:11 PM
Please add my name – Ellen S. Podgor Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor Stetson University College of Law
Posted by: Ellen S. Podgor | Jul 24, 2013 5:23:24 PM
Please add my name as well.
K. Babe Howell, Associate Professor, CUNY School of Law
Posted by: Babe Howell | Jul 24, 2013 5:17:05 PM
If this occurs, I can see a deluge of inadequate assistance of counsel proceedings.
Posted by: Peter Linzer | Jul 24, 2013 4:53:17 PM
These cuts not only endanger well-established constitutional rights of defendants (and an institution with a well-deserved reputation for professionalism), but in the long run could cost the taxpayer more. Defendants will still be entitled to counsel, who will have to be appointed and paid–but instead of an efficient and trained public body, there will be a reduction in bang for the buck. That’s irrational, by any standard.
Posted by: Laura Oren | Jul 24, 2013 4:40:12 PM
Brian Clarke Assistant Professor of Law Charlotte School of Law Charlotte, NC (a former FPD MDNC intern)
Posted by: Brian Clarke | Jul 24, 2013 4:27:54 PM
This is such an important cause.
Posted by: Sandra Guerra Thompson | Jul 24, 2013 4:26:46 PM
Please add my name too:
Greg Gilchrist Assistant Professor of Law University of Toledo College of Law
Posted by: Greg Gilchrist | Jul 24, 2013 3:54:59 PM