NCJ Number
138410
Journal
Judges' Journal Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1991) Pages: 28-37
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The war on drugs has begun to overwhelm the resources of many States' court systems and the providers of indigent defense services; between 70 and 90 percent of defendants charged with drug-related offenses are found indigent and require appointed counsel.
Abstract
The magnitude of the increases in drug-related criminal caseloads is illustrated through brief descriptions of urban State trial courts in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, Michigan, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Kings County (Seattle). The National Drug Control Strategy maintains that indigent defense is solely the responsibility of local and State government. This author maintains that the failure to recognize the significance of indigent defense services in the war on drugs and its contributions toward expeditious case processing have serious implications for criminal defendants and the criminal justice system. However, New Mexico and New York have made some progress in improving State indigent defense funding by increasing the budget of the Public Defender Office and passing a statute that institutionalized and formalized funding support for indigent defense through Federal grants, respectively. 41 notes