As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’ve been looking at a range of criminal justice reforms that could garner bipartisan support. Along those lines, I recently laid out a victims reform agenda. This agenda includes several important issues including ensuring that people in court for offenses that could result in imprisonment are appointed legal counsel if they can’t afford it.
For more than 40 years, the Supreme Court has found that the Constitution requires federal, state and local governments to provide legal assistance. Unfortunately, at all levels of government, I’ve heard of instances where the Sixth Amendment has been violated. But, compliance appears to be particularly bad at the state and local levels. In fact, a Bureau of Justice Statistics nationwide survey found that 30 percent of misdemeanor inmates were not represented by counsel.
As a result, potentially innocent individuals plead guilty to crimes. They then accrue a criminal record which can lead to adverse consequences. This may include difficulty finding a job and a greater criminal history that would be considered in any future sentencing determination.
In addition, some misdemeanors are treated as felonies in the legal system if a person becomes a repeat misdemeanor offender. If some of those earlier misdemeanor convictions were uncounseled, then someone might be convicted of a felony who did not commit one.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week we explored this problem and began to look at potential solutions. The witnesses before the committee, including Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady, helped provide the members of the committee information about what is really happening at all levels of the judicial system. They discussed how some people are being coerced into waiving their right, the pressures placed on defendants to plead, the rapid resolution of cases, the failure to provide counsel at the constitutionally mandated occurrence of the defendant’s first appearance, and the ineffective assistance of counsel.
We pride ourselves on a legal system that provides equal justice for all. For that to be real, we must make sure that those who cannot afford it receive representation.