Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards [official website] was sued [complaint, PDF] on Monday over the public defender system over allegations it denies effective representation to the poor [press release]. Edwards was sued by the Southern Poverty Law Center [advocacy website] and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of 13 criminal defendants in a suit that is also seeking class action status for non-capital crime defendants. The lawsuit claims that defendants with a low economic status are forced to wait months in jail to meet a public defender who is over worked and under funded. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that without appropriate counsel, defendants are being encouraged to plead guilty rather than receive their day in court. The lawsuit details instances where defendants were arrested over half a year ago and have met with their attorney once over that time and have been left in the dark regarding their case. The lawsuit cites the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments [text] and the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright [opinion, PDF], which requires states to provide lawyers free of charge to criminal defendants who cannot afford them.

The right to counsel at trial is constitutionally codified in the Sixth amendment and the duty for states to provide counsel to those who could not afford it themselves was established through Supreme Court precedent. While there are certain situations in the civil sector that do not require representation [JURIST report] the right to counsel when a party may be imprisoned has long been held. In September the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed defendants to sue over inadequate public defender funding [JURIST report]. In January of last year the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] against the New Orleans Public Defenders Office and the Louisiana Public Defender Board due to the lack of available public defenders for individuals with no access to an attorney. The ACLU claims that as a result of the lack of state funding for public defenders, individuals are forced to wait months in jail without counsel or accept bail and plea negotiations which can have irreparable effects on their case.