by Jeremy Leaming
The U.S. Supreme Court?s landmark Gideon v. Wainwright provided that pursuant to the Sixth Amendment, states must provide legal representation to criminal defendants who cannot afford attorneys. The ruling from that landmark opinion, its 50th anniversary not too far off, continues to cause problems for many states ? poor funding of indigent defense is festering problem for the criminal justice system.
But for those convicted of crimes the ability to obtain legal help in filing challenges to their convictions becomes even dicier as noted The Life of the Law, a new project providing podca
In The Life of the Law podcast, ?Jailhouse Lawyers,? the plight of prisoners in California to challenge prosecutorial misconduct or poor legal representation or any number of other errors in their convictions is brought to life.
The podcast centers on ?hundreds if not thousands of people practicing criminal law,? without having a JD or bar license. These folks are dubbed jailhouse lawyers, and while some have successfully overturned their convictions or landed new trials, the vast majority of inmates are left with very little recourse. And the jailhouse lawyers who have found success are not able to help other inmates because they don?t have the education or a bar license.
As the podcast notes there is hardly an abundance of attorneys willing to provide legal help to prisoners. But Life of The Law did interview Charles Carbonne, a ?prisoner rights lawyer,? in San Francisco. Carbonne noted that after being convicted prisoners lose the right to legal representation, unless one is on death row, and that very few attorneys provide pro bono help to prisoners, thereby spurring inmates to do their best to learn the law and seek appeals on their own.
And not surprisingly the challenges are steep.
?There are people who are very well versed in the law, inmates who are fairly well studied in the law,? Carbonne said. ?Pretty good at research and writing and legal drafting and then there are other inmates that are absolutely atrocious at it and the courts don?t receive it well. Their cases get denied. You really only get one bite at these apples. You don?t get there or four. You show up on your own. You present garbage. You often can?t revisit that later.?
As the podcast notes the challenges to educate oneself are daunting, with Calif. law saying prisoners are ?supposed to get at least four hours a week of access to a prison law library.? The Life of the Law podcast notes that from prison to prison the ability to access the libraries is spotty, and not all prison libraries are well stocked.
The promise of Gideon is unfulfilled, while the criminal justice system offers little chance for prisoners to lodge challenges to their convictions. The story from the new ?The Life of the Law? endeavor provides another stark reminder of criminal justices system in need of serious reform.
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