Birrell & Wayne conclude that when we "shortchange defenders, we are not just failing lawyers; we are failing the American promise of fair trials." To prevent this, they urge Congress to fully fund public defense as a "constitutional imperative." Read the op-ed:
dcjournal.com/a-crisis-in-...

On Gideon's anniversary, we urge the President to uphold every American's right to choose effective representation when faced with government action.

As John Adams stated, the right to trial by jury is "the heart and lungs of democracy." Without representation, this right is rendered meaningless. Therefore, in defense of democracy, liberty, and the Constitution, we champion the right to representation.

The right to representation within the criminal legal system safeguards the boundary between state power and individual liberty, a reality President Trump has experienced through his repeated use of representation over the past decade.

These protections were embedded to ensure we could exercise our liberties as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch," Buttigieg said.

Oh we know why.

“We are elated for those whose sentences were commuted and their families, but well aware that our system of over-policing, over-charging, and over-sentencing continues to disproportionately harm Black and brown communities,” said NACDL President Christopher Wellborn.

“Even as critical sentencing reforms have passed, we have watched as individuals languish in prison for charges which would now result in much lower sentences,” said @nacdl.org Executive Director Lisa Wayne (@justicedragon.bsky.social).

Hi Kate. It is the state constitution. Many states, like Colorado have voted it out if their Constitution. Unfortunately, we did not in California.