April 2, 2009

New York state's public defense system needs to improve

By Janet DiFiore

As Westchester County's District Attorney, it is my duty not only to prosecute those who are charged with criminal offenses, but also to do my best to see that justice is achieved.

In part, justice attained means that a defendant has competent legal counsel for representation.

As far back as 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright declared as fundamental to due process of law that all defendants be provided with competent defense counsel regardless of their ability to afford a private lawyer. The guiding hand of counsel at every step in criminal proceedings serves not only to insure that many other important rights of the accused are protected, but also enhances the likelihood that the best defense available to the accused will be presented.

In New York state, despite our abiding commitment to equal justice under the law, our system of public defense at times falls short of delivering on the promise of Gideon's ideal.

That was the finding of the New York State Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense Services, named by former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and on which I served, to study our county-based public defense system.

Based on an exhaustive review of the state indigent defense system, including holding public hearings, our 2006 report described the state's current, county-based system of public defense as "an ongoing crisis" that jeopardizes Gideon's right to counsel for the poor in this state. The commission found a "Balkanized" system, underfunded, overburdened, and without uniform standards to measure and enforce quality representation. Under the present system, the quality of counsel was determined by the happenstance of where one was tried.

To correct this fractured system, the Kaye Commission called for the creation of an Independent Public Defense Commission (Defense Commission) to operate and finance the provision of defense counsel for the indigent uniformly throughout the state. The Defense Commission would issue statewide standards for caseload limits, training and availability of investigatory resources. The Defense Commission would hire a statewide chief defender supported by regional defenders and other offices for appeals and conflict representation for cases involving multiple defendants. The Defense Commission and the Office of Chief Defender would ensure statewide uniformity of defense standards and resources to ensure effective representation of the poor across every county and town in the state.

While there are fiscal implications to changing the present system, which are not insubstantial in these hard economic times, nevertheless, the greater cost, long-term, will fall on society if the change is not made. Allowing the present system to continue will jeopardize the attainment of justice in future criminal cases, to the detriment of all participants in the criminal justice system - the defendant, the victim, the police and the courts.

So on the recent occasion of celebrating Gideon, let us re-dedicate our efforts to reforming the state's public defense system to make it better and more efficient. Thus, I hope the state Legislature gives extensive debate, consideration, and acts upon those reforms recommended by the Kaye Commission. Then, the ideal of Gideon will be a reality for the indigent throughout the state.

The writer, a Democrat, is district attorney of Westchester.