Criminal Justice
Our nation’s promise of “equal justice for all” rings hollow in the criminal courtrooms of America. The often boastful claim that America has an adversarial, trial-based system of criminal justice is belied by the inadequacy of resources and the dominance of pleas.
We are a nation that has created too many crimes, and we suffer from discriminatory enforcement, prosecution and sentencing of those brought into the criminal justice system. Indigent defendants are denied meaningful access to effective counsel. The vast majority of convictions are obtained by pleas, sometimes entered into without the benefit of any counsel whatsoever, much less after meaningful negotiations between the prosecution and defense. Policy choices that provide inadequate resources prevent indigent defendants from mounting a fair defense at trials, as rare as they are. In such a system, wrongful convictions are not only possible, but inevitable.
The Brennan Center is working to ensure that the promise of “justice for all” one day rings true. We seek comprehensive policy reforms in the criminal justice system to increase the accuracy, fairness and efficiency of the system, and at the same time we seek the elimination of racial disparities throughout the system. We lead a national indigent defense reform movement, dedicated to strengthening defender services. Through our Community-Oriented Defender (COD) Network, we help public defenders achieve important policy reforms, even as they represent their clients in individual cases. We also seek to promote rational sentencing approaches by combining research, scholarship, and policy advocacy to address racial disparities in federal sentencing. We are fighting for policy changes to restore the right to vote for the formerly incarcerated, and to eliminate wrongful “fees & fines” with the goal of increasing the opportunities for positive contributions from those who have both served their time and “paid their debt to society.”
DeWolfe v. Richmond (Amicus Brief)
The Brennan Center participated as a friend of the court in an important right to counsel case pending before Maryland’s highest court, which will determine how early in a criminal case counsel must be provided to a low-income person facing criminal charges.
Duncan et al. v. State of Michigan (Amicus Brief)
The Brennan Center, along with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and the Constitution Project, filed an amicus brief in a case before the Michigan Supreme Court case that seeks to address the constitutional insufficiency of the state's indigent defense system.
Hurrell-Harring, et al. v. State of New York (Amicus Brief)
The Brennan Center co-authored an amicus brief signed by 62 former prosecutors in support of a suit that challenges New York's indigent defense system.
A plan in California to charge inmates for their stay in local jails is short-sighted and fiscally insensible.
Reforming Criminal Justice Debt
The Brennan Center hosted a panel last week to highlight successful efforts to lessen criminal justice debt.
Reality and the Right to Counsel in Maryland
The right to court-appointed counsel is now common knowledge, but the devil is in the details.
Illustrations by Risko
Saddled with Debt, Indigent Defendants Face New Paths Back to Prison
States are increasingly imposing onerous “user fees” on those convicted of crimes, making it almost impossible for the indigent to repay their debt and successfully re-enter society, according to separate reports released today by the Brennan Center for Justice and American Civil Liberties Union.
Prosecutorial Guidelines Offer DOJ Blueprint for Reform
The Brennan Center for Justice re-releases newly-relevant prosecutorial Guidelines to reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system. If adopted, the Guidelines would promote equal justice and improve public safety and confidence in law enforcement.
Testimony to Maryland House of Delegates on Fixing Parole Fee Exemption System
Testimony before the Maryland House of Delegates’ Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would ensure that indigent parolees are exempt from paying a supervision fee.
Statement by Nicole Austin-Hillery on the Senate passage of the Fair Sentencing Act
The Brennan Center has supported a complete elimination of the inequalities in sentencing for crack and powder cocaine offenses, and is hopeful that the Senate Passage of the Fair Sentencing Act (at a reduced, but not eliminated ratio) will not be the final chapter in the overall fight to bring about parity in sentencing and an ending to this type of discrimination.
Testimony in Maryland House of Delegates in Support of Bill to Ease Burden of Criminal Justice Fees
Testimony before the Maryland House of Delegates’ Judiciary Committee in support of bill to fix exemption program for parole supervision fee.
Supreme Court Preview, Second Session: Access to Justice, National Security, and Civil Liberties
In advance of the second session of the Supreme Court's 2011 term, the Brennan Center calls attention to five cases involving important issues of access to justice, national security, and civil liberties.
Supreme Court Preview: Access to Justice
In advance of the Supreme Court opening its 2011 term, the Brennan Center calls attention to four cases raising important issues of access to justice.