Press Releases
Indigent Defense Reform
Morgenthau Leads 62 Former Prosecutors in Call for Better Defense of the Indigent
62 former New York prosecutors joined an amicus brief in support of a suit, now pending before New York’s highest court, which alleges that New York State’s legal services for the poor are constitutionally inadequate.
– 02/05/10
Coalition Releases Criminal Justice Policy Roadmap
More than 20 organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, and individuals is pleased to announce the publication of a catalogue of key criminal justice issues and policy recommendations for the next administration and congress.
– 11/06/08
Study Exposes Lack of Standards for Appointing Defense Counsel
This report covers unfair practices in effect in states including Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, and Nebraska, and highlights best practices in others, like Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont. People are often wrongly denied defense counsel, violating 6th Amendment.
– 09/16/08
Sixth Amendment Upheld in Rothgery
The ruling held under the Sixth Amendment that a person charged with a crime must be provided with counsel at the time of the initial arraignment—when the government first presents its charges against the defendant before a court of law—even if a prosecutor is not involved in that proceeding.
– 06/24/08
Supreme Court Must Uphold the Sixth Amendment
Brennan Center for Justice files a friend of the court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Sixth Amendment’s requirement that people are provided with counsel in a very timely manner.
– 01/31/08
FCC Urged to Lower Phone Rates for Prison Inmates
A filing today with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asks the agency to examine the harm caused by high phone rates charged to people in prison, and criticizes the relationships between prison administrators and commercial phone companies that give rise to the unusually high rates.
– 03/10/04