Full question:
I am a retired career military policeman. I ran a jail and have been an investigator. The UCMJ is very strict regarding pre-trail confinement and access to counsel.I have relative in the Saint Tammany Parish Jail. He has been in pre-trail status since 23 Jan 2010. He has seen his public defender twice. Once when he stood up and said, 'Not guilty.' The second time at a bail reduction hearing for 3.5 minutes. His trial is schedule to start IN THREE DAYS. HE HAS NOT HAD A CONFERENCE WITH HIS LAWYER OR ANY GUIDANCE. He has had a approximately 5 minutes total his lawyer. How long may an integent person be held in pre-trail status? What constitutes inadequate counsel, or inadequate defense?Is what I have illustrated, above, the norm? If so, I wasted almost 30 years in uniform and service in the first Persian Gulf War defending our Constitution. My intention was to fight for all Americans, not just the ones who can afford lawyers.
- Category: Criminal
- Date:
- State: Louisiana
Answer:
In 1963, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright (372 U.S. 335) that, “reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless one is provided for him.” Declaring it an “obvious truth” that “lawyers in criminal courts are necessities not luxuries”, the Supreme Court ruled that states must provide counsel to indigent defendants in felony cases.
The right to counsel has been consistently extended to any case where the accused risks a potential loss of liberty.
Twenty-four states filed amicus briefs to the Supreme Court is support of s constitutionally protected right to counsel. These states urged the Court to impose a new standard of fairness on state criminal proceedings in order to improve the entire scope of the criminal justice system.
The right to counsel is also enshrined in Louisiana’s constitution. Article 1, Section 13 states that any person who is indigent and has been arrested or detained for any offense has a right to a court appointed attorney “at each stage of the proceeding”. Further, the legislature is directed to “provide for a uniform system for securing and compensating qualified counsel for indigents”.
In Louisiana, anyone accused of a crime that can result in incarceration is entitled a lawyer. Because of that constitutional guarantee, federal and state governments must provide lawyers to defendants accused of crime who cannot afford to hire their own attorney.
Public defenders defend a person’s liberty and protect their client’s rights while their freedom is at stake. Public defenders work to ensure that innocent people are not wrongfully convicted of their crimes, that guilty people are appropriately sentenced and that prosecutors successfully test their case beyond “a reasonable doubt.” When adequately resourced and supervised, public defenders serve the community to improve the quality of life for all its members.
If a defendant believes he/she is receiving inadequate representation by counsel, he/she may be able to petition the court for a continuance of the legal proceeding, including the trial.
A continuance is the postponement of a hearing, trial, or other scheduled court proceeding at the request of either or both parties in the dispute, or by the judge without consulting them. In response to delays in bringing cases to trial, some states have adopted "fast-track" rules that sharply limit the ability of judges to grant continuances. However, a motion for continuance may be granted when necessitated by unforeseeable events, or for other reasonable cause articulated by the movant (the person seeking the continuance), especially where the court deems it necessary and prudent in the "interest of justice."
In order to obtain a continuance on the basis of absence of counsel in a criminal trial, the defendant must show that the absence was attributable to some unforeseeable cause.
When the absence of counsel is caused by an act or omission of the defendant, a continuance may be properly denied.
The Supreme Court of the United States will not postpone argument for the purpose of giving a famous counsel an opportunity to appear for a party adequately represented by other able counsel.
Discreton for the criminal trial court to grant or deny a continuance is ultimately limited and defined by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. These include the right to have effective counsel.
A legitimate difference of opinion in trial tactics between the defendant and counsel (lawyer) can be a reason for dismissing the lawyer in a criminal case, and the seeking of a continuance.
A continuance may be granted if the counsel is legitimately engaged in another professional proceeding.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
