Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 14, 2006 11:38:31 GMT -5
Public defender faces contempt----Lawyers not picked fast enough for judge
One of the architects of the new indigent defense system in New Orleans
faces a contempt hearing -- and possibly jail time -- after Criminal
District Judge Frank Marullo on Wednesday ruled Steve Singer did not
comply with his order to swiftly appoint lawyers to 3 defendants facing
death penalty charges.
Marullo had called Singer into his courtroom Wednesday morning to explain
who would take over the 3 capital cases on his docket, which include a
1st-degree murder charge and 2 cases of aggravated rape of a child younger
than 12.
The previously appointed lawyers for all 3 defendants recently quit the
Orleans Parish Indigent Defender Program after its newly appointed board
decided to no longer allow its lawyers to have private practices on the
side. The new policy requires all public defenders in New Orleans to be
full-time staff attorneys.
"All of these defendants deserve due process of law under the Sixth
Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) and the victims . . . are entitled to
a conclusion of these cases," Marullo said.
Singer, who was hired by the board to lead the Indigent Defender Program's
trial division 2 weeks ago, told the judge he had yet to determine who
would take over the cases.
With that news, Marullo set a contempt hearing for Singer, then denied a
motion seeking to remove Marullo as judge for that proceeding. Later in
the day, Marullo changed his mind about the recusal motion, which will be
decided by Judge Arthur Hunter on Friday or Monday. The contempt hearing
will be held after the hearing on the motion.
Singer could face jail or a fine if a judge finds him in contempt.
Marullo's action comes as a number of judges have expressed frustration
with policy changes at the public defender office that have prompted 6
attorneys to resign. They have criticized the lack of a transition period
for the courtrooms that have recently lost attorneys, which has meant that
some scheduled trials cannot proceed. Some judges also have bemoaned the
loss of talented, experienced lawyers, questioning whether the emphasis on
having full-time attorneys is truly essential.
Ronald Sullivan, the Yale University law professor brought on by the board
that oversees the public defender program, said the change is critical to
building a system of legal representation for poor defendants that is
better than what existed before Hurricane Katrina.
"The pre-Katrina part-time system created a perverse incentive for lawyers
to spend as little time as possible on their public cases and as much time
as possible on private cases," he said. "As a result, the poor citizens
who were provided a lawyer paid for by the state received constitutionally
inadequate representation."
Singer, who is a law professor at Loyola University, said he did not know
when the indigent office would hire new attorneys prepared to handle
capital cases. They could be hired along with a roster of new attorneys
the office is recruiting, he said.
After Katrina, the office had three attorneys in the capital division, but
Dwight Doskey and Jeffery Smith have resigned and the3ird attorney has
been reassigned.
Singer said part of the indigent office's capital woes could be resolved
if District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office assesses which cases could
result in a death penalty from a jury and reduce the charge in cases where
that is unlikely. Singer said he thinks such a review is ongoing.
But Jordan said he has not changed his position about indigent defendants
facing capital charges. "We will legally and justly prosecute these cases
within the confines of the law," he said.
Doskey, who before he resigned was handling 21 of the 27 capital cases,
has been told by most judges, including Marullo, that he can't back out of
his cases. On Wednesday he submitted a writ of Marullo's decision not to
let him withdraw from the cases to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, but it
was rejected. He plans to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
A trial is scheduled in Marullo's courtroom next week for one of Doskey's
clients, Irvin Rousell, who was indicted in May 2005 on a rape charge
involving a 9-year-old girl. Another man facing a child rape charge,
Kendrich Thomas, who was indicted just four days before Katrina, has a
trial scheduled for early October. The 1st-degree murder case against
Dewayne Dobbins is set for November.
(source: Times-Picayune)
One of the architects of the new indigent defense system in New Orleans
faces a contempt hearing -- and possibly jail time -- after Criminal
District Judge Frank Marullo on Wednesday ruled Steve Singer did not
comply with his order to swiftly appoint lawyers to 3 defendants facing
death penalty charges.
Marullo had called Singer into his courtroom Wednesday morning to explain
who would take over the 3 capital cases on his docket, which include a
1st-degree murder charge and 2 cases of aggravated rape of a child younger
than 12.
The previously appointed lawyers for all 3 defendants recently quit the
Orleans Parish Indigent Defender Program after its newly appointed board
decided to no longer allow its lawyers to have private practices on the
side. The new policy requires all public defenders in New Orleans to be
full-time staff attorneys.
"All of these defendants deserve due process of law under the Sixth
Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) and the victims . . . are entitled to
a conclusion of these cases," Marullo said.
Singer, who was hired by the board to lead the Indigent Defender Program's
trial division 2 weeks ago, told the judge he had yet to determine who
would take over the cases.
With that news, Marullo set a contempt hearing for Singer, then denied a
motion seeking to remove Marullo as judge for that proceeding. Later in
the day, Marullo changed his mind about the recusal motion, which will be
decided by Judge Arthur Hunter on Friday or Monday. The contempt hearing
will be held after the hearing on the motion.
Singer could face jail or a fine if a judge finds him in contempt.
Marullo's action comes as a number of judges have expressed frustration
with policy changes at the public defender office that have prompted 6
attorneys to resign. They have criticized the lack of a transition period
for the courtrooms that have recently lost attorneys, which has meant that
some scheduled trials cannot proceed. Some judges also have bemoaned the
loss of talented, experienced lawyers, questioning whether the emphasis on
having full-time attorneys is truly essential.
Ronald Sullivan, the Yale University law professor brought on by the board
that oversees the public defender program, said the change is critical to
building a system of legal representation for poor defendants that is
better than what existed before Hurricane Katrina.
"The pre-Katrina part-time system created a perverse incentive for lawyers
to spend as little time as possible on their public cases and as much time
as possible on private cases," he said. "As a result, the poor citizens
who were provided a lawyer paid for by the state received constitutionally
inadequate representation."
Singer, who is a law professor at Loyola University, said he did not know
when the indigent office would hire new attorneys prepared to handle
capital cases. They could be hired along with a roster of new attorneys
the office is recruiting, he said.
After Katrina, the office had three attorneys in the capital division, but
Dwight Doskey and Jeffery Smith have resigned and the3ird attorney has
been reassigned.
Singer said part of the indigent office's capital woes could be resolved
if District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office assesses which cases could
result in a death penalty from a jury and reduce the charge in cases where
that is unlikely. Singer said he thinks such a review is ongoing.
But Jordan said he has not changed his position about indigent defendants
facing capital charges. "We will legally and justly prosecute these cases
within the confines of the law," he said.
Doskey, who before he resigned was handling 21 of the 27 capital cases,
has been told by most judges, including Marullo, that he can't back out of
his cases. On Wednesday he submitted a writ of Marullo's decision not to
let him withdraw from the cases to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, but it
was rejected. He plans to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
A trial is scheduled in Marullo's courtroom next week for one of Doskey's
clients, Irvin Rousell, who was indicted in May 2005 on a rape charge
involving a 9-year-old girl. Another man facing a child rape charge,
Kendrich Thomas, who was indicted just four days before Katrina, has a
trial scheduled for early October. The 1st-degree murder case against
Dewayne Dobbins is set for November.
(source: Times-Picayune)