NPR News: Carrie Johnson- 'Some Public Defenders Warn: 'We Have Nothing Left To Cut'

Source:Carrie Johnson- welcome to public broadcasting?

"Steven Nolder joined the federal public defender's office when it opened in Columbus, Ohio, nearly 18 years ago. Nolder handled his share of noteworthy cases, including the first federal death penalty trial in the district and the indictment of a former NFL quarterback embroiled in a ticket fraud scheme." 

From NPR

We have all sorts of economic insurances in America that we can collect from when we need them. Like health-insurance, auto-insurance, homeowners-insurance (to use as examples) but we do not have an insurance system that in some case is just as much about life death as health-insurance, which is our justice system. And when we are involved in, either under criminal trial or being sued or wanting to sue, someone else for some miss-justice that we believe has been committed against us. And when we are in the justice system either in a criminal or civil sense we have to pay for those services out-of-pocket for the most part, unless we have a very good lawyer with a lot of resources that pays for our defense or representation in court on their own. 

And if we are not someone of means, either of average means who can't come up with tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills or even more than that, or we are even poor, we are looking at purchasing a second mortgage on our home or we are out of luck perhaps stuck with legal aid which are made up of fine qualified hardworking people, but who tend to be overworked.

For people without means when it comes to criminal justice or civil justice, they are left with legal aid or the public defenders office. Offices that are way underfunded and overworked that do not pay for themselves because they tend to represent clients without means. And the money they do get has to come out of general tax revenue and in tough economic and budget times like today. 

That means they can expect to not be cut but get slashed and the people who need those services are left without anywhere else to go to get legal assistance when they need it and in a country that champions justice as much as we do. And speaks in such high praise of it, that should be unacceptable and we should be looking to create a justice system thats affordable for everyone. As we are currently attempting to do with our healthcare system. 

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