Sixth Amendment, Schmixth Amendment!
In a New York University law school report released Monday, of the 15 states with the highest prison populations, one of those being our very own penal-fail peninsula, 13 imposed some hefty charges for those seeking public defendants.
In an obvious contrast to the Sixth Amendment, which states the accused shall “have the Assistance of Counsel for his [or her] defense,” the finding obviously flips T. Jefferson and ole’ Mr. Madison over in their graves.
Although the sixth installment in the Bill of Rights doesn’t explicitly say counsel should be provided free of charge, the study finds poorer criminals will, in effect, have worse representation and a higher chance of wrongful conviction as they are unable to afford some of the public defenders’ rates that can reach nearly $1,300.
The American Civil Liberties Union has spoken out after the study’s release, saying the study labels America, where liberty and justice for all are supposedly super important, as a two-tiered system of justice where rich Americans have a greater chance of accessing fair legal representation.
But then again, the National Districts Attorney Association said it’s “only fair” dirt poor criminals should have to fork up the dough they don’t have.
This study tells us all one thing about America’s values: Greed is good.
Apparently so good it trumps constitutionality.
Everyone deserves equal representation no matter how many Benjamins he or she can fork over.
