PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) filed a class-action lawsuit today alleging Pennsylvania does not fund indigent defense enough to provide effective counsel, the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania (PDAP) reports.
Indigent defense is the legal requirement for a government to provide a defendant with an attorney if they cannot afford one. The Supreme Court has interpreted this right to counsel as the right to an effective lawyer as determined in Strickland v. Washington.
A report from the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice found that over 90% of Pennsylvania's Public Defenders officers do not have enough attorneys. It also found the state is short at least 350 Public Defenders.
“For our courts to be fair, for our system to be just, Public Defenders need enough resources to do the job the Constitution requires,” Vice President of PDAP Chris Welsh said. “Public Defenders want to provide effective assistance of counsel and client-centered representation for some of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents. Public Defenders cannot meet the most basic obligations of a fair justice system without funding for sufficient salaries to recruit and retain talented attorneys or without crucial support from social workers, investigators and experts.”
Most current funding for Public Defenders offices comes from individual counties. According to ACLU-PA, Governor Josh Shapiro allocated $7.5 million in indigent defense last year, but with 67 counties spending more than $125 million annually, it is not enough.
The PDAP reports Governor Shapiro pledged $10 million in indigent funding in this year's budget.
