Should Peeing on the Street Really Land You in Jail? The Sixth and 14th Amendments: who needs ‘em?

[Ian David]

Should Peeing on the Street Really Land You in Jail?
The Sixth and 14th Amendments: who needs ‘em?

People forced to go through our misdemeanor court system definitely don’t get them. At least that’s according to a new report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

I’m pretty sure they’re right too. After all, can we really expect any public defender to provide adequate defense for any of their clients when he or she is covering 1,000 or more cases a year? I don’t think so. It isn’t the defenders’ fault they have to complete 10 or more cases a day just to keep up with their incoming case load. In many cities, the system dictates that a defender only has between 15 minutes and one hour total to work on any given case. That isn’t enough time to honor the rights guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment and results in the violation of 14th Amendment’s due process provision. These are serious civil liberties violations that run counter to the American idea of justice.

Of course, all of that only applies if a defendant is lucky enough to be assigned a lawyer in the first place. It’s common practice for busy courts to dissuade defendants from seeking counsel, and the system is no help either. The defendant is given the option of pleading guilty on the spot or staying in jail and waiting, sometimes months, for a lawyer to be assigned to them. Many defendants have financial obligations and can’t afford to sit in jail for weeks or months, but, if they can’t post bail, that’s exactly what they’ll have to do. They are forced to make a difficult decision between seeking justice and getting out quickly. Most choose to get out quickly.

God help anyone forced to make that choice.

More:
http://blog.aclu.org/2009/05/08/should-peeing-on-the-street-really-land-you-in-jail/


See also:


Baptist preaches on KJV "him that pisseth against the wall"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=385&topic_id=134873

And:

1 Kings 14:10
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/1kg/14.html#10

[MercutioATC]

1. I missed the part where somebody was sentenced to jail time for public urination.

The article may make a valid point, but the headline is sensationalistic crap.

[Laelth]

2. Even an adequate criminal defense is cost-prohibitive for most Americans.

As a result, we have a piss-poor criminal legal system.

:dem:

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--sloppy proofreading.

[Ian David]

3. LOL!! n/t