Counties and government officials looking to cut down on spending in light of tightening state and local budgets might want to take a good look at a report released yesterday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The title pretty much speaks for itself, “Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America’s Misdemeanor Courts”.

Considering the news last week that one cash strapped California county district attorney’s office was going to entirely stop prosecuting various misdemeanors and even some felonies, some of the report’s recommendations might be well-timed. An AP story indicates that the NACDL report suggests that “[t]reating petty, nonviolent misdemeanors as infractions rather than crimes would save millions of dollars and better protect defendants’ rights without hurting public safety”.

Suffice it to say that this can create major problems for those being represented in addition to the attorneys who face falling short of ethical and professional standards (plus suffering burnout). Other problems point to inadequacies in the entire misdemeanor justice system itself, not limited to issues with representation of counsel. The report highlighted the following 5 recommendations to deal with the major problems:

The report, or at least its summary, is worth a read by anyone interested in this aspect of the justice system, and the difficult issues faced therein.

  1. Divert misdemeanors that do not impact public safety to penalties that are less costly to taxpayers;…

  2. Reduce pressure on defendants to plead guilty, particularly at first appearance;…

  3. Enforce ethical obligations of all participants in misdemeanor adjudications;…

  4. Provide counsel for any defendant facing the possibility of incarceration;…

  5. Provide public defenders with the resources necessary to effectively represent their clients.

  • AP Study finds ‘massive waste’ in misdemeanor cases (FindLaw)
  • NACDL: Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America’s Broken Misdemeanor Court
  • CA County D.A. Decides Not to Prosecute Certain Crimes at All: Is that Legal? (FindLaw’s Blotter)
  • Misdemeanor Overview (provided by John Eastland, Attorney at Law)
  • Criminal Law Center (FindLaw)

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